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■  '•;: -J 


.BEASTS  IN  CASSOCKS. 

THE  CRIMES  OF 

THE  HEADS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN 

GREEK-CATHOLIC-ORTHODOX 

CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 


Narrated,  from  Personal  Experiences, 

BY  PRIEST 

FATHER  JOHN  E.  DUDIKOEE 


Newark,  N.  T. 
1924 


Copyright  1924 

By 

Rev.  John  F.  Dudikoff 


NURKIN     PRESS 

Newakk,  N.  J. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PA(tE 

Principal  Persons 5 

I.      ^ly  Confession    *^ 

II.      I   Come  To  America   ^^ 

III.  I   Undergo  a  'Tvehearsal"    17 

IV.  Oro-ics    Alasked   As   "Rehearsals"    19 

\'.      Platon  Takes  Money  For  Safe-Keeping 22 

VI.     I  Meet  the  "Archangel"   24 

\'II.      I  Am  Reprimanded  and  Sworn  In    25 

VIII.     The  Holy  Fathers  Celebrate    26 

IX.     The  Bishop  Amuses  Himself 29 

X.      Ivan   (iorbach,   the  "Specialist"    3? 

XI.     At  the   Inquest    37 

XII.     The  Clergymen  Administer  "Justice" 38 

XIII.     A  Daylight  Robbery   4f ) 

XI\\      3kIore  "Inquests" -1-3 

X\\      I  Pay  for  the  Fathers'  Dinner   -^6 

X\  I.      Russian   S]>ies  in  America    4(S 

X\HI.      I  Am  Attacked,  R<^bbed  and  Imprisoned 51 

X\TII.      I   Return   to  Russia .    53 

XIX.      Platon   Re|)ays  Me  With  "Interest"   56 

XX.      I  Meet  the  Czar 53 

XXI.  Platon     Causes     Husband's     Death     and     Seduces 

Widow    61 

XXII.     Platon  Instigates  the  Beiliss  Blood  Accusation 64 

XXIII.  His  Eminence  Leads  Me  a  Chase 65 

XXIV.  Platon  Incites  Pogroms   68 

XX\'.  The    Hetman's    Gendarmes    Assassinate    My   Two 

Children    ^4 

XXVI.  I   Land  at  the  "Che-Ka"    (Extraordinary 

Commission )    ^^ 

XXVII.     I  Am  Sentenced  to  Death   79 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXVIII.  The  Horrors  and  Atrocities  of  the   Soviet 

Inquisition    81 

XXIX.  Justice  Triumphs   84 

XXX.  I  Trace  Phiton  to  Xew  Yoriv 84 

XXXI.  The  "People's   Priest"— An   Arch-Provocateur 85 

XXXII.  Phiton  Obtains  ^ly  "Confession"  By  Fraud 87 

XXXIII.  The  "To-morrow"  That  Xever  Comes SS 

XXXIV.  I  Am  Fed  On  Promises   89 

XXXV.  I  Bring-  Suit    92 

XXXVI.     "You  Have  Walked  Into  Our  Trap" 94 

XXXVII.     The  Two  "Pillars"  Testify   98 

XXXVIII.     I  Am  Accused  of  Bolshevism   104 

XXXIX.     Affidavit  of  Maria  M.  Bogdanova-Dudikoff 108 

Hearing  of  Lubkuch  vs.  Repelo 130 

A  Brief  Sketch  of  I\Iy  Court  Trials  and  Further  Sufferings.  .  .  .131 


4  — 


*"/''^  ^^^    -^   ■    •    ^ ^'^  .^laio,  and  at  ])resent  engaged  in 

ic- 


v_   i.^  1   .  icit»^.^,   cuiu   ai   jucsenL  enga,^ 


'  ■  -         -^  ■      :    d'V    ^  ilLVilL.LV, 

i^nipojees  ui  lU  kas^.au  i:,ccieMastiLai  Consistory,   15  East  97th 
Street    Nf   •  Vnl, 

•        ■         '  '        ■■■'■  <  irook  L:rh- 

rcuuca    ,n   juini   r.   Duailvult  s   narrative,    have   led   the   latter   to 

^-  .-"    !ii-V. 

.    ■.  lor^    1      ;ht 
JOHN  GOROKFOV,  Leide-  of  the  Russian  Cathec'^-al  Choir 

'•■"•--•■•  '-•^-  ^      '-        :■  -^       .  :.  ■    .  ..::u.  r.Lor 

'  ''''}'^'-^:  ^"^-^^   •    -  .b.\M    S:a:LxiivL\  ,   :.  i:L:>.^.an   Clerg^-man  .u\d 
his  ^Vife-  the  l?tt-^-  indrlp-ing  in  intimacies  w^th  the  higher  Russian 

^'^' ■^''-^\^^-  -LC'i'Uv    and   iA'AX   CrORB.i'^il,  "Speciaiists"  in  "mas- 
sage." lMd.ll^^^^.   fni    ''.:^P   ^Pis.  in   i.^t-.-r?!   i,.d  r;:^po.---J   -exual 


"CONSUL   RUTZKY"    (alias   PRIEST    DANIEL   GILEVITCH), 

■ ' '  ■'■"  "'  '■"         •  'i.  e  I     '.Nitre  n  er  ■  :'•^  i  ■,) 


'         -    —       <  ^    ^nd    .LlN.\    '.j1L_  ^    ^oiicuLines    uf 

P'aton  ^nd    Al?xarde^ 


FATHER  AND  :\IADAM  KOKHAXXIK,  Russian  Clergyman  and 
his  Wife;  the  part  of  the  latter  simihir  to  that  played  by  Aladam 
Sneg^irev,  with  an  occasional  theft  in  addition. 
YURI  BAKH]\IETYEV,  last  Russian  Ambassador  to  .Vmerica  under 

the  late  Czar's  Government. 
\7CTOR  HARTZ,  Attorney   for  Russian  Consulate  in   Xew  York, 

S[)y  and  Informer. 
GREGORY  KUXASHEVSKY,   Spy  and   Informer. 
XICHOEAS  II.  late  Czar  of  All  the  Russias. 

AXGELIX^V,  Alother  Superior  of  Staro-Cherkask  Convent,  Territory 
of  Don,  Russia;  whose  late  husband,  a  political  offender,  was  ex- 
ecuted at  the  instigation  of  Platon,  who  subsequently  seduced  the 
widow. 
Ml^XDEL  BTlILISS,  Jewish  Martyr  and  A'ictim  of  Blood  Accusation, 

in  which  Bishop  Platon  had  a  hand  ;  at  present  in  Xew  York. 
\'ERA  CHEBERIAK,  convicted  murderess  and  confederate  of  Platon 

in  the  Beiliss  affair. 
SILBb^I\]\IAX,    Russian   Government   Hangman   and   Co-Conspirator 

with  Platon. 
PATRIARCH   TIKHOX,    Head    of   the   Russian   Church   since   the 

oxerlhrow  of  the  Czar. 
HI-:TA1AX  SKOROPADSKY,  Head  of  Provisional  Ukrainian  Gov- 
ernment, after  the  I'eace  Treaty  of  Brest-Litovsk. 
MADAM   MARIA  AHCHILOVXA  DUDIKOFF,  Wife  of  John  F. 

Dudikoff;  at  present  in  this  country. 
rill'TR  TWO  BABIES,  assassinated  in  Kiev  by  the  Iletman's   sol- 
diers. 
BI^ZSAIERTXY.     Communist    whose    advice    saved    Dudikoff"    from 

death  at  the  hands  of  the  Extraordinary  Commission. 
EATHIlR   AXADIMIR  RICPIL0\\    Prie>t  and  Agent-Provocateur, 

who  fraudulently  obtained  Dudikoff^'s  "Confession." 
BORIS    BAKHAIETYEV,    the    Russian    I'rovisional    Government's 

(  Kerensky's)    Ambassador  to  the  United  States. 
GEXb^RAL  SE^IIOX^OV,  notorious  bandit  chief,   who  was  impris- 
(jned  in  the  Ludlow  Street  Jail  on  his  arrival  in  America  a  few 
months  ago. 
FATHER  \YVSSILI   PTASHCHUK,   Russian   Clerg>mian  who   has 

witnessed  the  fraud  ]:)erpetuated  (Mi  Dudikoff*  by   Richlov. 
V.  \\  BUOIISTROV,  Head  of  the  Russian  Church  Relief  in  America. 
ALEXAXDER  CHICHILA,  Spy  and  Provocateur. 


BISHOP  DZUBAI  and  BISHOP  FILLIPOVSKY,  Heads  of  a  Rus- 
sian Church  Faction  in  America  preten(Hr.,i;  to  be  at  odds  with 
Platen's  cHque. 

SAUL  WOLF.  Sah)on-keeper  in  Bayonne,  X.  J.,  at  present  under 
in(Hctment  for  false  testimon\-  ai^ainst  Duchkoff. 

ILYOUOR   (Sk:K(iIUS   TRUFAX()\A    the  notrious  ".Mad   .Alonk." 

VALFRIAX  (;RA\'FS.  Platon's  Attorney. 

lOSFPH  PODLESXY,  Xotarv  i'ublic  on  luist  9th  Street. 


MY  CONFESSION 
By  FATHER  JOHN  F.  DUDHvOFF 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  clergy  are  puzzled  and  are  seeking  the  cause  for  the  people's 
ever-growing  rebellion  against  priests  and  the  Church. 

From  childhood  on  we  were  taught  reverence  for  priests  and  the 
Church  rites  and  sacraments.  We  were  told  that  in  order  to  reconcile 
our  souls  with  ourselves,  to  purify  the  inner  man  in  us,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  confess  at  least  once  a  year,  particularly  before  the  (ireat  Lent. 
We  were  told  that  at  the  confessional  one  could  tell  of  his  most  secret 
sins  and  that  the  priest-confessor  would  rather  die  than  betray  what 
was  cnnhded  to  him  at  the  confessional.  We  were  also  told  that  there 
was  a  Church  canon,  according  to  which  a  priest  who  betrayed  the 
secrets  of  a  confession  would  be  p)rohibited  froni  officialing  at  services, 
would  1>e  subject  to  public  penance  in  a  monastery,  and  would  even 
be  unfrocked.  People,  believing  this,  used  to  go  to  the  confession  to 
share  with  their  spiritual  Father  the  tormenting  secrets  of  their  hearts. 
This  thev  did  to  obtain  relief,  to  make  ]>eace  with  Uieir  souls. 

At  one  time  a  rumor  was  circulated  to  the  effect  that  a  priest 
receiving  a  confession  disclosing  revolt  against  the  Czar  ov  against  the 
(iovernment,  was  under  obligation  to  report  this  to  the  authorities. 
Little  by  little,  the  people  grew  cool  to  the  confessional,  and  later  on 
ceased  "confessing"  altogether.  The  priests,  in  order  to  compel  people 
to  come  to  confession,  resorted  to  force.  They  summoned  to  their  aid 
the  police,  the  administration,  etc.  If  a  man  did  not  come  to  confession 
for  three  vears  in  succession,  the  Father  or  his  deacon  would  come  to 
him  with  threats.  After  that  the  police  would  be  sent.  The  man  would 
be  dragged  from  one  court  to  another,  etc.  All  this  used  to  take  place 
in  the  "good"  old,  fortunately,  never  to  return,  time  in  Russia. 

In  America,  our  missionaries,  in  order  to  curry  favor  with  the 
authorities,  made  it  a  point  to  find  out,  through  the  medium  of  the 
confessional,  how  much  money  one  had,  what  his  political  views  were, 

—  S  — 


etc.  In  doing  this,  the  "Authorities  in  Cowls"  made  such  clever  use 
of  the  information  thus  obtained  that  the  money  of  the  person  con- 
fessed would  be  transferred  to  the  bottomless  pockets  of  the  Platons 
and  Alexanders,  and  those  who  confessed  would  be  deported  to  Russia 
and,  not  infrequently,  would  land  in  prison  or  be  dis[)atched  ad  patres 
outright. 

It  seemed  that  with  the  advent  of  the  Russian  Revolution  this 
practice  would  become  part  of  a  horrible  tra(liti(jn.  It  seemed  that 
particularly  in  free  America,  our  missionaries  would  reform  with  the 
Czar's  fall,  that  for  the  sake  of  purging  their  cijnsciences,  for  the  sake 
of  cleansing  the  Church  and  its  rites  which  they  themsehes  had  pol- 
luted, they  would  begin  to  lead  honest  lives  and  would  cease  to  make 
use  of  the  sacraments  and  rites  of  the  Church  exclusively  for  their 
own  personal  ends  and  those  oi  their  >uperiors.  The  Fathers,  how- 
ever, seem  to  have  sunk  in  this  routine  like  (h-unkards  in  drunkenness, 
and  cannot  possibly  mend  then"  ways.  Their  present  mode  of  life  has 
penetrated  into  their  blood  and  will  surely  be  transmitted  to  the  tenth, 
if  not  the  twentieth,  generation.  As  an  illustration,  I  will  cite  what 
happened  to  me. 

Early  in  ]\Iay,  1914,  having  ferretted  out  that  I  had  in  mv  pos- 
session a  little  money  which  I  had  earned  by  hard  labor,  Archbishop 
Platon,  who  is  now  calling  himsef  the  ^letropolitan  of  Edessa,  sent  to 
me  his  right  hand,  Archpresbyter  John  Slunin.  asking  and  imj)loring 
me  to  deposit  m\'  monex'  for  safe-keeping  at  the  Mission  Bank,  located 
at  the  Consistory  at  East  97th  Street,  Xew  York.  Father  Slunin  as- 
sured me  that  at  the  Mission  Bank  my  money  would  be  safer 
than  in  an\'  other  bank,  that  I  would  be  given  a  receif)t  with 
a  guarantee  that  the  money,  with  interest  accrued,  would  be  re- 
turned to  me  on  demand,  even  though  I  should  call  for  it  at,  say,  one 
o'clock  at  night.  Having  taken  the  word  of  the  spiritual  Father  who 
was  supposed  to  be  ])reaching  against  gain,  against  the  aj^propriation 
of  another's  property,  about  the  tortures  which  await  one  for  theft 
and  deceit,  etc.,  etc.,  I  brought  my  savings  to  the  East  97th  Street 
Consistory,  and  in  the  presence  of  Brother  Boris  Sochko,  deposited 
for  safe-keeping  $2,800.00  and  gave  $5,000.00  for  twenty  shares  of 
the  Oil  Field  Company,  which  has  its  oil  wells  between  the  Caspian  and 
the  Azov  Seas.  The  par  value  of  these  shares  is  $42,000.  The  entire 
sum,  $7,800.00  was  handed  to  Archpresbyter  John  Slunin,  secretary  to 
Archbishop  Platon,  in  the  presence  of  Platon  himself.  The  latter  who 
witnessed  the  money  being  counted  out,  told  me  that  he,  the  "Saintly 

—  9  — 


Prelate."  himself,  vouched  for  its  return,  with  his  head,  conscience 
and  the  salvation  of  his  "turbulent"  .-oul. 

1  had  S3( )().()()  left  with  me.  Father  Slunin  and  Father  Chepelev, 
his  assistant,  invited  me.  in  tr)ken  of  ingratitude  for  haxiui?  done  the 
will  of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  Father  Platon,  to  have  dinner  with 
champagne,  etc..  etc.,  at  one  of  the  most  expensive  New  York  res- 
taurants. But — I,  myself,  had  to  ])a_\-  f(jr  the  dinner  because  when  the 
bill  was  handed  to  us  both  Fathers,  after  a  vain  search  through  their 
pockets,  declared  that  they  had  forgotten  to  take  along  money.  After 
this  dinner.  I  landed  at  the  Bellevue  Hcjspital  where  I  spent  a  very 
long  time.  On  my  discharge  from  the  hospital  I  went  to  the  Consistory 
on  East  97th  Street  to  get  my  receipt,  guarantee,  etc.,  etc.,  as  I  was 
promised.  Imagine  my  astonishment  and  anger,  when  I  was  told  in 
reply  to  my  demand  that  Archbishop  IMaton  and  Arch])resl)yter  Slunin, 
his  right  hand,  had  disappeared,  no  one  knew  where.  I  went  to  Arch- 
presbyter.  Father  Peter  Kokhannik,  for  advice.  l)ut  he  told  me  he  could 
not  give  me  any  counsel. 

I  then  left  in  quest  of  "His  (Jrace"  Archbishop  Platon  and  of 
Archpresl)yter  John  Slunin.  I  found  both  in  Russia,  in  all  their 
glorv  and  greatness.  I  am  not  going  to  tell  in  detail  here  how  I  had 
repeatedlv  made  niy  lawful  demand  for  the  repayment  of  my  money. 
It  will  make  very  interesting  reading  and  I  will  describe  it  another 
time.  I  will  only  sa\-  that  in  September,  1918.  I  made  my  demand  to 
I'laton  at  the  AIoscow  Church  Conclave  and  had  witnesses  in  the 
|)erson  of  ]\Ietro[)olitan  I'enjamin  of  Petrograd,  the  I'ishops  Constan- 
tine.  .Mitrophan  and  many  others;  and  also  in  the  a])artment  of  Pat- 
riarch Tikhon.  Platon  promised  me  in  the  I'atriarch's  presence  tu  pay 
me  everything,  to  a  cent,  '^to-morrow."  AMien  I  came  to  see  PIat(  n 
"to-morrow."  it  turned  out  that  he  had  \-anished  like  smoke.  "God's 
servant"  was  no  longer  in  ^loscow. 

Upon  iiK[uiry,  I  learned  that  the  Archbisho])  escaped  by  express 
train  to  Kiev.  I  could  do  nothing  ei-e  but  go  after  him.  I  did  find 
Platcjn  in  Kiev,  but  the  ])reacher  of  Kingdom  Come  had  prepared  such 
a  tra])  for  me  that  I  shall  not  forget  it  to  my  dying  day.  Platon  turned 
out  to  be  an  intimate  friend  and  confidential  daviser  of  the  creature  of 
the  (iermans.  Hetman  Skoropadsky  who,  in  consideration  of  "special 
services"  which  Platon  had  rendered  him  during  his  negotiations  with 
the  Germans,  promised  him  the  Patriarchate  of  Kiev  and  of  all  of 
Little  and  Great  Ukraine.  At  the  instigation  of  the  Archbishop  and  at 
the  order  of  the  Autocrat  Hetman  Skoropadsky  and  the  "saintly  Pre- 

—  10  — 


late"  riaton,  I  was  arrested  and  thrown  into  jail,  where  I  was  Mib- 
jected  to  the  nicest  horrible  tortures.  ]\Iy  ])oor.  unfortunate  babies 
(one  an  infant  of  two  and  one-half  years  and  the  other  one  and  one- 
half  years  )  were  hacked  up  by  Haidamaks  (  Ukrainian  s'jldiers  ).  Thus 
the  "saintl}"  Platon  deprived  me  not  only  of  my  monev.  but  of  mv 
children  as  well. 

After  my  im])risonment  caused  by  i'laton  and  Skoro])ad>ky,  1 
found  Prelate  idaton  in  thi>  countr}-  in  the  \ery  Consistor\  on  luist 
97th  Street  where  I  had  ,i;iven  him  and  Father  Slunin.  a^  heads  of  the 
institution,  my  savings.  I  came  here  with  the  sole  object  (jf  getting 
back  my  deposit. 

Early  in  Xovember,  VJ21,  I  called  at  the  C(Hisistory  where  I 
found  not  IMaton  but  another  "Saintly  Prelate"  who,  a>  i<  kn(j\vn,  dis- 
likes roast  beef,  but  is  very  fond  of  tlesh,  ])articularly  if  it  belongs  to 
the  female  sex.  and  who  als(j  is  not  axerse  to  males  whcjm  he  can  use 
for  purposes  oi  his  own.  Tliis  was  none  other  than  Bishop  .Mexander. 
Having  heard  me  out.  he  told  me  to  hand  in  a  petition  regarding  the 
matter.  Wlien  I  did  as  ordered,  he  became  infuriated  and  exclaimed. 
"If  you  again  dare  to  demand  money  of  die  .\rchl)isho]).  I  will  have 
you  arrested  as  a  r><»Phevik  and  de])orted  to  Jvussia.'' 

Right  there,  in  the  (.'on.-i>tor}-,  stjme  "friends"  ga\e  me  the  folbjw- 
ing  achice :  "The  welldvnown  peoi)le's  ])riest.  \'ladimir  l\ichlo\'.  li\'e- 
in  Xew  York,  on  r\Iadison  Street.  He  is  in  the  em])l(jy  of  Alexandei 
and  the  C(jnsistory.  Get  in  touch  with  him.  because  he  is  a  great  fa\or- 
ite  both  with  Alexander  and  wiih  Platon  himself.  \'.  \\  P.uimistro\-  him- 
self has  the  greatest  reverence  for  him.  W  hy.  he  was  able  to  secure 
Buimistrov's  promise  to  gi\-e  him.  as  a  gift,  money  for  the  purchase 
of  the  house  whicli  he.  Father  Madimir.  leased.  This  man  can  dc^ 
anything  for  vou,  and  vou  will  get  your  money  back  to  a  cent." 

I  found  Fadier  \'.  Richlov  at  the  address  given  me  at  the  Con- 
sistory. In  the  presence  of  the  Priest  Father  X'assily  Ptashchuk,  I  toh 
Father  Adadimir  all  about  mv  trials  and  tribulations.  Father  X'ladimi: 
pretended  to  evince  as  much,  interest  in  me  as  my  father  or  mothe' 
would  have.  He  promised  to  aid  me  in  everything,  and  showed  me,  ii 
order  to  substantiate  his  claim,  Platon's  and  Alexander's  cards  ad 
dressed  to  him.  He  also  showed  me  papers  in  which  he  was  addresset 
as  "Bishop." 

A  couple  of  days  later  Father  \\  Richlov  said  to  me:  "You  wil 
get  your  money  to  a  cent,  but  on  one  condition."  I  inquired  about  tht 
condition.      Richlov    answered,    "You    see, — Metropolitan    Platon    ha.^ 


been  appointed  Patriarch  of  all  Russia.  As  I'atriarch  he  must  be 
completely  exonerated  of  all  charges  a^-ainst  him.  Since  both  the 
clerijy  and  laymen  in  Russia  know  about  }our  affair,  you  must  clear 
Platon  of  }-our  accusations.  In  order  to  do  that,  vou  must  copy  and 
si,S;n  this  written  confession."  At  hrst  I  was  stu])etie(l,  and  then  I 
asked  Father  Richlov  :  'A\liy,  does  the  ( ireek-(  )rthodox  Church  |)ermit 
such  written  C(;nfessions  ?"  Richlov  said:  "Xot  only  are  written  con- 
fessions ])ermissible  here  in  America,  but  at  |)resent  thev  are  required. 
It  you  don't  sign  this  confession,  you  may  Itid  farewell  to  your  mone\' 
as  well  as  to  all  hope  for  my  assistance." 

Father  Richloy  handed  me  a  rough  draft  of  the  "written  con- 
fession" which  I  have  preserved  among  my  papers  as  documentary 
evidence.  It  was  in  the  handwriting  of  Father  Richlov  himself  and 
read  as  follows : 

"Your  Right  Fminence.  Bishop  and  ^^letropolitan  I'laton  !  ]\Ierci- 
ful  Archpriest  and  Father!  I  herewith  confess,  as  before  the  Lord 
God  Himself  and  before  your  Fminence,  that  I  have  been  guilty  be- 
fore you:  n  I  confess  in  writing  that  I  have  never  given  }-()u  any 
money;  2)  That  I  have  insulted  you  in  vain  with  my  letters  and 
personal  calls  in  Russia  and  America.  I  attest  that  bt^h  you  and  I 
were  du|)es  of  unscrupulous  men;  3")  I  entreat  you  on  my  bended 
knees  to  forgive  nie.  I  have  suffered  a  nervous  breakdown  from  the 
horrors  of  the  Re\'olution.  Bless  me  \\ith  your  Holy  lAangel,  and 
may  I  learn  to  be  humble  and  ])atient.  Pardon  me.  the  sinful  and 
unworthy  one,  and  I  swear  that  to  my  dying  day,  I  shall  never  make 
an\-  more  demands  on  you.  Please  ])ray  with  your  holy  orisons  for 
me.     Your  Spiritual  Son, 

(Signed) 

When  I  read  through  the  "confession"  I  was  si^ellbound.  Father 
Richlov,  seeing  that  I  was  at  a  los>,  remarked:  "If  you  don't  sign 
this  before  a  notary,  not  only  wdl  your  mone\-  be  withheld,  Init  we 
will  arrest  and  deport  you  to  Russia,  lea\ing  your  wife  here  as  a  host- 
a<'"e,  or  else  .  .  ."  Here  Richlo\-  took  a  card  from  his  i)ocket  and 
shoved  it  under  my  very  nose.  On  the  card  I  saw  the  f(jllowing  sym- 
bols :  a  >kull,  a  revolver  and,  between  them,  a  l)omb.  I  stared  at 
Father  Richlov,  and  he  added  threateningl>- :  "If  you  don't  care  to  make 
a  closer  acquaintance  with  these,  do  as  you  are  told." 

I  was  in  dire  need  at  the  time,  especially  since  my  wife  was  about 
to  go  to  a  lying-in  hospital.    I  was  without  work,  without  money,  with- 


out  shelter.  However,  I  did  not  get  frightened  at  Richlov's  threats. 
I  had  been  in  Russia  during  the  war.  Nevertheless,  I  was  in  a  strange 
land,  and  cUd  not  know  what  to  do.  Father  Richlov,  seeing  my  hesita- 
tion, assumed  a  tUfferent  tone.  He  swore,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross 
thrice,  that  he  would  not  give  my  "Confession"  to  anyone  until  he 
should  have  received  the  cash  in  full,  that  he  would  not  let  anvone 
harm  me,  and  that  should  Platon  and  Alexander  refuse  to  return  my 
money,  he,  Richlov.  would  appear  in  Court  as  a  witness  in  my  favor. 

This  latter  promise  of  his  produced  its  effect  on  me  and,  believing 
Father  Richlov  was  telling  the  truth,  I  took  the  rough  draft,  copied 
and  signed  it  before  a  notary  and  gave  it  to  Father  Richlov. 

The  next  day  I  went  with  Father  Richlov  to  get  the  money. 
Father  Richlov  told  me  to  wait  on  Fifth  Avenue  and  97th  Street,  and 
himself  went  to  the  "Holy"  Fathers.  In  a  few  minutes  he  came  back 
and  gave  me  a  little  book,  saying:  "The  Aletropolitan  cannot  receive 
you  now.  He  is  busy  with  General  Semionov  and  Ambassador  Bakh- 
metyev,  but  he  sends  }ou  his  blessings  and  this  Holy  Book  of  the 
Gospels."  I  took  the  book,  opened  it,  and  not  finding  any  money  in 
it,  asked  Richlov  for  it.  He  went  back,  and  in  about  fifteen  minutes 
brought  me  $200.00,  which  he  handed  me  in  an  ice  cream  parlor  on  the 
comer  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  96th  Street.  He  kept  $20.00  "for  his 
trouble"  and  assured  me  that  he  had  not  obtained  all  the  money  to- 
day for  the  sole  reason  that  the  ^letropolitan  was  busy  with  Sem- 
ionov, and  that  to-morrow  the  Metropolitan  would  give  the  rest  of 
the  monev.  "To-morrow,"  Father  Richlov  continued,  "Platon  is  to 
get  One  ]\Iillion  Dollars  from  Bakhmetyev,  and  you  will  get  all  your 
money,  both  the  sum  you  left  for  safe-keeping  and  the  money  you 
paid  for  the  shares."  But  this  "to-morrow"  has  lasted  until  this 
very  day.  And  besides.  Father  Richlov  continually  threatens  me, 
in  Platon's  name,  with  imprisonment  in  this  country  and  deportation 
to  Russia,  and  also  adds  :  "Your  confession  is  in  the  hands  of  ]\Ietro- 
politan  Platon,  and  if  vou  dare  as  much  as  utter  a  word  about  your 
mone}'.  you  will  land  where  no  one  will  be  able  to  find  you.  As  for 
your  money — you  will  ne\'er  get  it  until  A-our  dying  day." 

I,  John,  son  of  Feoktist,  Dudikoft',  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Moghilev,  in  the  Government  of  Kamenetz- Podolsk,  on  ]\Iarch  30, 
1887.  ^ly  fatlier,  Feoktist  Andreyevitch  Dudikoff,  was  in  the  Holy 
Synod  service,  with  the  rank  of  Privy  Councilor.  He  resigned  from 
his  post  in  1911,  after  the  assassination  of  Premier  Stolypin  and 
became  manager  of  the  estates  of  Prince  Obolensky  and  Count  Rad- 

—  13  — 


ziwil,  which  position  he  hehl  until  his  death  at  the  hand  of  bandits 
during  the  revolution. 

I  recei\'ed  my  education  at  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  same 
city   where,   in    1909,   1   completed  the   full   course  of   study.     After 


John  F.  DiKhkoff  and  His  Wife,  Mary  M.  Dudikoff,  By 
Birth  Bogdanotf,  Before  Their  Arrival  in  America. 

graduation    from   the   Seminar}-,    I    was   appointed   as   teacher   in   the 
Teachers'  Parochial  High  School  for  Alales  in  the  village  of  \^idrinka. 


—  14  — 


District  of  Cherikov,  Government  of  Moghilev.  Here  I  taught  until 
1912.  In  August,  1912,  I  was  appointed  principal  of  the  Teachers' 
Parochial  High  School  in  Pustinka,  District  of  Mstislav,  Govern- 
ment of  Moghilev  (at  present  that  of  Smolensk).  I  could  not  get 
on  with  Father  Vassily  Vostorgov,  Superintendent  of  Parochial 
Schools  in  the  districts  of  Mstislav  and  Cherikov,  and  therefore  left 
my  position  two  months  later. 


CHAPTER  H. 

/  Come  to  America 

Having  obtained  letters  of  introduction  to  Platon,  Greek-Ortho- 
dox Bishop  of  North  America,   from  Stefan,  Archbishop  of  Moghi- 


Father  J.  Sluniii,.  Archpresbj^ter 

lev;  Flavian,  the  Aletropolitan  of  Kiev,  and  from  Ivan  Ivanovltch 
Barnatny,  Government  Supervisor  of  Schools,  I  left,  in  June,  191o., 
for  America.    I  was  one  of  the  fortv-eisrht  members  of  the  so-called 


15  — 


Moscow  Excursion,  consisting  of  educators,  lawyers  and  men  of 
other  learned  professions  who  came  here  to  make  a  study  of  this 
country.  Among  the  most  well  known  members  of  the  "Excursion" 
were  Professor  Lapinsky  of  St.  Vladimir  University  of  Kiev,  Pro- 
fessor Maximeiko  of  the  University  of  Kharkov,  Professor  Yurchik 
of  the  University  of  Kazan,  and  others.  We  sailed  from  the  port  of 
Libau,  and  arrived  in  New  York  on  July  4th. 

On  July  5th,  1913,  two  Russian  clergymen  came  to  meet  me  on 
board  of  our  steamer  ''Czar."  They  had  been  informed  by  those 
who  had  given  me  the  letters  to  Archbishop  Platon,  that  I  had  left 


Father  John  Dudikoff 


for  America.  These  two  clergymen,  Father  John  Chepelev  and  Father 
John  Slunin,  took  me  off  the  boat  and  escorted  me  to  the  Russian 
Ecclesiastical  Consistory.  They  introduced  me  to  His  Eminence  the 
Rt.  Rev.  Archbishop  Platon.  The  Archbishop  read  my  three  letters 
of  introduction  in  my  presence,  gave  me  his  blessing,  and  told  Father 
John  Slunin,  who  was  connected  with  the  Consistory,  to  find  an  apart- 
ment  for  me. 

—  16  — 


CHAPTER  III. 

/  Undergo  a  "Rehearsal" 

The  priest  (Archpresbyter)  Father  Slunin,  took  me  to  Ivan 
Timofeyewitch  Gorokhov,  leader  of  the  Cathedral  Choir.  He  there 
asked  me  whether  I  had  any  means  of  subsistence.  I,  not  knowing 
Father  Slunin  well,  did  not  tell  him  about  all  my  funds.    I  merely 


i'utlier  <^iiepeiev 

said  that  the  little  money  I  had  would  do  me  for  the  time  being- 
Father  Slunin  then  said  to  me :  "You  must  be  quite  tired  after  your 
journey,  therefore  >ou  had  better  rest  for  a  few  days." 

Four  days  later  Father  Slunin  called  on  me  and  said:    ''Well, 
now  that  you  have  rested  let's  go  to  the  Consistory."    I  went  together 

—  17  — 


with  him  to  15  East  97th  Street,  where  I  again  met  Archbishop 
Platon.  He  gave  me  his  blessings,  invited  me  to  his  apartments  and 
began  to  quiz  me  about  Russia,  about  the  heaUh  of  the  church  dig- 
nitaries we  knew  in  common,  about  myself,  etc.,  etc.  After  that, 
having  learned  about  me  from  my  documents  and  letters  of  introduc- 
tion (which  among  other  things  contained  a  request  to  find  me  some 
work  in  the  Diocese),  Archbishop  Platon  said  to  me:  ''Before  I 
find  a  position  for  you,  you  will  have  to  be  put  on  probation.  Besides," 
he  added,  "you  must,  without  fail  confess  before  Archpresbyter, 
Father  Slunin." 


Ivan  Timofeyevitch 
Gorokhov 

On  my  leaving  Platon's  apartments,  I  was  called  into  another 
room  where  Mr.  Gorokhov  gave  me  a  test  in  academic  subjects. 
After  the  test,  Mr.  Gorokhov  went  to  the  Archbishop's  apartments, 
and  on  returning  told  me  that  I  needed  a  few  rehearsals  in  chanting 
and  singing.  This,  despite  the  fact  that  my  Seminary  diploma  indicated 
that  I  had  the  highest  mark  in  those  subjects,  and  that  I  did  not 
make  a  single  error  in  the  test  Mr.  Gorokhov  gave  me.  After  this 
the  "rehearsals"  began  and  lasted  almost  until  September.  However, 
nothing  was  mentioned  during  these  "rehearsals"  about  Church  music 
or  Church  reguations. 


—  18  — 


Arclil)isliop  Xemolovsky's  Engagement  Party 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Orgies  Masked  As  ''Rehaersals" 

During  this  time  I  had  been  to  confession  at  which  Father  Slunin, 
who  ^^-as  recommended  to  me  by  Archbishop  Platon  himself,  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  me  out  as  to  the  actual  amount  of  money  I  had. 
As  for  the  "rehearsals",  this  is  what  they  consisted  of :  Every  eve- 
ning, after  business  hours,  the  "Holy  Fathers"  would  come  together 
for  an  entirelv  dih^erent  kind  of  "Business."  There  was  no  paper, 
no  pen,  and  no  ink  on  the  tables,  but  a  sumptuous  repast  and  choice 
drinks    and    refreshments,    instead.     At    these    "sessions"    there   were 


19 


also  women,  among  them  wives  and  daughters  of  the  clergy,  as  well 
as  "invited  guests,"  but  everyone  of  them  young  and  beautiful. 

It  is  true  that  during  these  "sessions"  singing  "rehearsals" 
took  place — all  kinds  of  songs  were  sung,  among  them  some  very 
obscene  ones  both  in  English  and  in  Russian.  Very  often  these  "con- 
ferences" kept  the  conferees  "busy"  until  the  wee  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing.   During  these  religious  "revivals"   the  sex  problem  w^as   readily 


Archbishop  Platon  Eoshdestwensky,  Following 
the  Steps  of  Archbishop  Nemolcvsky 

.solved.  The  participants  were  all  completely  naked — after  the  fashion 
common  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  They  were  sitting  in  one  of  two 
ways :  either  a  "Father"  had  a  nude  Eve  on  his  naked  lap,  or  a 
"Father"  sat  on  the  knees  of  one  of  the  women,  in  a  posture  which 
made  it  convenient  for  him  to  suck  her  breasts.    On  the  table,  instead 


20  — 


The  Beg-iunings  of  the  Holy  Fathers'  Feasts 


The  Holy  Fathers  Are  Taking  Their  First  Liberties 

—  21  — 


of  the  I-aw  Code  or  Church  Regulations,  lay  an  album  in  a  de  luxe 
binding,  with  pictures  of  a  pornographic  nature  which,  apparently  for 
the  sake  of  exciting  carnal  passion,  were  perused  by  the  men  and  women 
together.  This  de  luxe  album  was  kept  in  an  equally  de  luxe  case 
and  I  saw  it  many  a  time  in  the  ''saintly*'  Prelate's  apartment.  More 
than  once  I  had  to  bring  it  to  him  locked  in  the  case. 

It  was  during  this  time  that  Vsevolod  Fedorovitch  Shcheglo- 
vitov,  who  was  a  son  of  Princess  Alexandra  Fedorovna  Obolensky^ 
by  her  first  husband,  and  who  pretended  also  to  be  Prince  Obolensky, 
w^as  a  frequent  visitor  at  Platon's  home.  This  yuong  man  very  often 
went  wdth  the  Archbishop  to  disorderly  resorts  or  took  prostitutes 
to  the  Waldorf  Astoria  or  to  Little  Hungary,  on  East  Houston  Street. 
I  personally  succeeded  in  tracing  them  to  these  places.  Owing  to  his 
recklessness,  this  wealthy  young  man  went  into  bankruptcy  and  the 
major  part  of  his  money  found  its  way  into  the  pockets  of  the  "saint- 
ly" Prelate  Platon.  Mr.  Obolensk}-  (Shcheglovitov)  himself,  whom 
I  had  known  in  Russia,  complained  to  me  about  the  matter. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Plaion   Takes  My  Money  For  "Safe-Keeping" 

The  first  few  days  of  my  probation  were  over.  I  was  summoned 
to  the  "saintly"  Prelate  who  asked  me:  "Aren't  you  afraid  to  carry 
your  money  about  with  you?"  I  replied  that  I  was  indeed  afraid  at 
times.  The  Archbishop  then  replied :  "We  are  beginning  to  think 
quite  well  of  you.  I  have  in  my  service  a  very  loyal  man,  whom  I 
entrust  with  the  most  confidential  matters ;  he  needs  an  assistant,  and 
I  think,  after  I  know  you  better,  I  will  appoint  you  confidential  In- 
spector General  to  work  under  him.  I  will  have  you  meet  him  as 
soon  as  he  comes.  And  now,  let  me  give  you  my  fatherly  advice: 
keep  some  money  for  current  expenses,  and  let  me  have  the  rest  for 
safe-keeping.  You  have  a  considerable  sum  of  money  on  you  and 
if  you  are  robbed,  whom,  will  you  hold  responsible?  Why,  you  will 
lay  the  blame  at  my  door  because  I  am  the  representative  and  spir- 
itual Father  and  guardian  of  the  Russians  in  America." 

—  22  — 


I  was  some  what  surprised  to  learn  that  what  I  had  told  the 
priest  at  the  confessional  became  known  to  Platon,  but  trusting  him 
as  an  Archbishop  of  the  Russian  Church,  I  gave  him  the  money  and 
asked  him  to  keep  it  until  I  should  ask  for  it. 

When  I  met  Father  Slunin  the  next  day  he  remarked :  "Do  you 
know,  Ivan  Feoktistovitch,  his  Eminence,  the  Archbishop,  is  begin- 
ning to  have  faith  in  you  and  is  planning  to  reward  the  confidence 
vou  showed  in  him  by  giving  him  your  money  for  safe-keeping.  He 
intends  to  appoint  you  in  a  few  days  to  a  very  good  and  very  re- 
sponsible position.    An  oath,  however,  will  be  required  of  you  never 


Fraeticing  the  lUth  Cuinmaiulnieiit 

to  reveal  anything  of  what  you  may  see  or  hear,  even  though  you 
may  be  subjected  to  the  most  excruciating  tortures." 

I  thanked  the  P'^ather  for  the  good  news  but  did  not  mention  what 
Platon  had  told  me.  The  next  day  Father  Slunin,  who  had  missed 
the  "business  session"  with  the  fair  sex  held  the  previous  night, 
chanced  upon  me  and  asked  me  sotto  voce  to  tell  him  what  had  taken 
place.  True  to  my  vow,  I  answered:  "Father  Archpresbyter,  pardon 
me,  but  since  you  were  absent  I  have  no  right  to  tell  you,  without 


the  permission  of  those  present.    Keep  in  mind  that  I  do  not  partici- 
pate in  the  sessions ;  I  only  wait  on  the  members." 

Father  Slunin  slapped  me  on  the  shoulder  in  sign  of  approval, 
saying:  "Yes,  we  have  made  no  mistake  in  recommending  you  to 
both  the  Bishop  and  the  Archbishop  as  a  man  who  knows  how  to 
hold  his  tongue.  You'll  do  splendidly.  One  meets  such  men  very 
seldom,  and  one  is  never  sorry  to  meet  them.  Don't  fail  to  call  on 
their  Eminences  to-night." 


CHAPTER  YL 
/  Meet  The  ''ArchangeV 

When  I  came  that  evening  to  Archbishop  Platon's  apartment,  I 
found  there,  besides  the  Vicarial  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  an- 
other "gentleman"  in  frock  coat,  white  vest  and  white  tie.  After 
Archbishop  Platon,  and  Bishop  Alexander  had  given  me  their  bless- 
ing, Platon  introduced  to  me  the  "gentleman"  in  the  frock  coat,  say- 
ing: "This  is  our  most  beloved,  loyal  and  worthy  Inspector  Genera! 
and  editor  of  our  newspaper,  Mr.  Gabriel  'Archangel'  Dobroff.  Ami 
this,"  turning  to  the  gentleman  in  the  frock  coat  and  white  tie,  "is 
Ivan  Feoktistovitch  Dudikofif,  who  is  at  present  with  us  on  probation 
and  about  whom,  my  dear  Sir,  I  have  already  spoken  to  you.  Make 
friends  with  him." 

Both  Archbishop  Platon  and  Bishop  Alexander  were  in  very 
good  humor,  and  asked  me  to  make  myself  at  home.  Taking  a  goou 
look  at  Dobroff,  I  recalled  having  seen  him  more  than  once  at  the 
"sessions",  after  which  he  often  helped  me  to  escort  home  on  foot 
(if  the  "session"  was  held  not  far  from  the  Consistory)  or  place  into 
closed  cars  and  send  home  those  who  could  not  take  care  of  them- 
selves. .  .  .  But  neither  Dobrofif  nor  I  made  any  sign  of  recogni- 
tion. True,  at  the  "session"  there  was  a  great  difference  in  our  rela- 
tive positions :  Dobroff,  like  the  "Fathers"  and  their  intimate  friends, 
sat  in  an  armchair,  while  I,  standing  in  the  doorway  of  the  "meeting" 
room,   entered   only   when   summoned.    I   took  orders   which  I  con- 

—  24  — 


veyed  to  the  waiter  and  having  served  whatever  the  latter  brought, 
returned  to  my  post  at  the  door. 

In  spite  of  such  a  difference  in  position — Dobroff  being  an  In- 
spector General  to  the  two  "saintly"  Prelates,  and  I  only  on  proba- 
tion,— he  shook  my  hand  very  warmly  and  said :  ''I  am  very,  very 
glad  and  happy  to  meet  a  man  after  my  own  heart  in  a  strange 
country."  This  was  followed  by  jokes  and  hints  thrown  in  apparently 
to  make  it  impossible  for  me  to  understand  everything,  but  I  caught 
several  of  the  innuendoes.  Thus  I  imderstood,  when  Archbishop 
Platon  told  Dobroff  that  he  envies  Bishop  Alexander,  who  had  such 
a  "gay  time  last  night  amongst  young  chickens,"  that  Alexander  had 
spent  the  night  wath  prostitutes.  Platon  felt  that  he  was  entitled  to 
a  greater  share  of  that  type  of  entertainment  than  Bishop  Alexander 
because  of  his  higher  rank — moreover  he  was  growing  older  and 
could  not  waste  any  time. 

A  few^  minutes  later  Archbishop  Platon  said  to  me:  'T  appoint 
you  Inspector  General,  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Dobroff.  You 
must  take  orders  from  him  as  you  would  from  me.  To  begin  with, 
see  Archpresbyter  Ivan  Ivanovitch  (SluninV  And  now,  my  darling 
Feoktistich,  I  know  you  are  tired,  and  besides,  our  old  men's  talk 
probably  bores  you.     .       .  .     Well,  sleep  peacefully." 

This  meant — "Betake  yourself  home."  I  took  the  hint,  rose, 
received  the  Archbishop's  blessing  and  went  to  Gorokhov's  apartment 
at  1286  Lexington  Avenue,  where  I  made  my  home.  It  was  too 
early  to  go  to  bed — I  was  not  invited  to  the  "conference"  most 
probably  on  account  of  Friday's  Lent,  and  I  spent  the  evening  in  my 
room  thinking  of  my  native  land  and  my  near  and  dear  ones.     .     .     . 


CHAPTER  VII. 

/  Am  Reprimanded  And  Sworn  In 

The  next  day  I  was  sent  to  Mr.  Dobroff"  with  a  packet.  He  re- 
ceived me  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  examined  the  seals  on  the  packet 
most  minutely  and  said,  looking  me  straight  in  the  eye:  "There  are 
experts  who  can  break  a  seal  and  then  replace  it  so  cleverly  that  God 

—  25  — 


Himself  could  not  tell  the  difference,  but  you  can't  fool  me.  .  .  ." 
He  transfixed  me  with  his  glance  and  added  :  "I  want  to  have  con- 
fidence in  you,  and  you  try  your  best  not  to  forfeit  it.  You  will  regret 
to  your  dying  day  any  lack  of  discretion  on  your  part.  .  .  .  Yester- 
day you  were  ordered  to  see  Father  Slunin  and  you  went  home  with- 
out seeing  him.  We  ascribed  this  not  to  disobedience  or  negligence, 
but  rather  to  forgetfulness.  Today,  after  leaving  me,  you  will  call 
on  Slunin  and  do  the  will  of  both  Bishops.  If  you  wish  to  be  em- 
ployed by  the  Mission,  you  must  take  an  oath  of  allegiance.  Priests 
take  this  oath  on  being  ordained,  and  you,  as  an  official,  should  have 
taken  it  before  you  were  handed  this  parcel." 

After  having  been  thus  reprimanded,  in  a  very  soft  voice  and 
in  a  friendly  manner,  I  apologized  stating  that  I  was  not  familiar 
with  the  *'law"  and  that  I  would  make  a  faithful  servant  without 
an  oath.  To  this  Dobroflf  replied :  "Every  soldier  takes  an  oath 
before  joining  the  army  and  you  have  no  right  to  dodge  taking  one. 
Here  I  have  Pishchek,  Branin,  Kistar,  and  others  among  my  men, 
and  I  assure  you,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Pishchek,  who  is  Bishop 
Alexander's  trusted  man  and  who  is  entrusted  with  the  carrying  out 
of  confidential  matters  of  secondary  importance,  no  one  else  knows 
anything  about  secret  matters.  Be  sure  to  call  on  Father  Slunin  right 
after  you  leave  me."  I  did  as  I  was  bid  and  went  to  the  Consistory 
where  Father  Slunin  met  me  and  said :  "I  have  been  waiting  for  you, 
Dobroff  told  me  that  you  were  ready.  Come,  let's  go  to  the  Cathedral." 
We  went,  and  I  took  mv  oath. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

The  ''Holy  Fathers'  Celebrate 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  In  accordance  with  the  order  of 
Archbishop  Platon,  conveyed  to  me  by  Father  Slunin,  I  had  to  offici- 
ate as  Assistant  Deacon  at  Platon's  services.  After  the  liturgy,  I 
went  home  to  the  apartment  of  Gorokhov's  and  the  singers  of  the 
Cathedral  Choir.  At  about  three  o'clock  guests  came  to  Gorokhov: 
Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  Archpresbyter  Slunin,  Father  Sergius 

—  26  — 


Snegirev  with  his  wife,  Catherine  Vassilyevna,  and  a  captain  of  the 
Riissian  navy  whose  name  I  don't  know. 

I  vividly  recollect  it  all,  as  though  it  were  happening  now — the 
guests  took  their  places  at  the  table,  set  with  the  choicest  viands  and 
even  more  choice  beverages.  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky  sat  down 
in  the  large  arm-chair,  Madam  Snegirev  at  his  right.  Father  Slunin 
at  his  left,  the  Captain  next  to  him.  I  was  assigned  a  seat  next  to 
Madam  Snegirev^  and  told  to  wait  on  the  Bishop.  Near  me  sat  Goro- 
khov,  and  near  him  stood  a  chair  on  which  at  first  sat  a  girl  called 
Pasha.    They  did  not  eat  much,  but  drank  in  excess.    They  first  drank 


Gives  Expression  to  His  Feelings 

the  Czar's  health,  then  the  Czarina's,  after  that  the  Dowager  Em- 
press' and  finally  the  heir-at-law's.  They  drank  "separately  and 
jointly"  the  health  of  each  of  the  Czar's  four  daughters,  and  then 
drank  the  health  of  the  entire  Imperial  family.  Nor  did  they  neglect 
the  three  Metropolitans — those  of  Petrograd,  Moscow  and  Kiev, 
respectively;  first  separately  and  then  jointly;  nor  did  they  forget  the 
Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod  and  his  Assistant.  Besides,  as  I 
learned  at  the  table,  since  a  few  fellow  Academy  students  of  Bishop 


—  27 


Alexander  were  now  members  of  the  Holy  Synod,  they  too,  were 
remembered.  To  make  the  Captain  feel  at  home,  they  drank  the  health 
of  the  Army  and  Navy.  After  the  roster  of  the  living  was  exhausted, 
they  began  to  drink  to  the  memory  of  the  dead.  Goblets  were  filled, 
both  for  "Long  Life"  and  for  "Eternal  Memory."  Li  other  words, 
the  ancient  custom  was  carried  out  in  every  detail. 

I>ess  than  an  hour  after  the  beginning  of  the  party,  the  tele- 
phone rang.  T  was  about  to  answer  it,  when  Bishop  Alexander  told 
me  to  fetch  another  bottle  of  rum  and  said,  addressing  Father  Snegi- 
rev :  "That  must  be  for  you,  vSergius."  Father  Snegirev  went  to  the 
telephone,  hung  up  and  declared  sadly :    "Pardon  me,  but  I  must  go. 


,<SH^^^^^^ 

I     ^-  ^'  *      '^- 

Inj 

mSt^'- 

9t  "  -.-•^'  ^ 

Violent  Jealousy 

Darling,"  he  added,  turning  to  his  wife,  "you  stay  here  for  a  little 
while.  Archbishop  Platon  wishes  to  see  me."  Bishop  Alexander  then 
whispered  into  ALidam  Snegirev's  ear  in  Ukrainian :  "See,  I  told 
3^ou  so."  I  heard  those  words  clearly,  but  their  real  meaning  was  a 
puzzle  to  me  then. 

Father  Snegirev  left.  Father  Slunin  started  a  conversation  on 
a  political  subject  and  such  loud  arguments  ensued  that  Bishop  Alex- 
ander could  say  whatever  he  pleased  to  Madam  Snegirev.    Nobody 


—  28  — 


but  myself  listened  to  him.  Father  Slunin,  whether  on  purpose  or 
unintentinoally,  declared  that  we  were  on  the  eve  of  war,  that  the 
Germans  had  concluded  a  secret  treaty  with  Russia  and  that  war 
would  soon  be  declared  on  England  and  Japan.  Gorokhov  argued 
that  the  treaty  had  been  concluded  with  Austria  and  not  with  Ger- 
many. The  captain  contradicted  at  first,  but  soon,  apologizing  for 
going,  also  left.  Alexander  Nemolovsky  winked  his  eye  and  said 
to  me:  "See  whether  the  captain  snapped  the  lock  on  the  door.  Also 
see  to  it  that  you  don't  open  the  door  for  anyone.  Don't  receive  any 
more  visitors."  He  then  added  in  a  louder  voice:  "What  ill-bred, 
insolent  fellows  our  clergy  are!  They  even  disturb  our  Holidays  and 
Sundays.  As  soon  as  his  wife  is  to  be  a  mother  the  provincial  priest 
immediately  comes  to  New  York,  asks  for  an  increase  or  promotion 
to  a  better  position  in  order  to  be  able  to  support  the  infant  that  is 
to  be  born,  and  every  one  of  them  strives  to  become  Rector  of  the 
New  York  Cathedral." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Bishop  Amiises  Himself 

I  went  to  the  entrance  door  which  was  only  half  shut,  closed  it 
and  returned  to  the  dining  room.  An  animated  conversation  was 
going  on  between  Father  Slunin  and  Gorokhov.  Madam  Snegirev 
had  retired  to  the  bedroom.  The  Bishop,  on  noticing  me  said:  "Ah, 
Johnnie,  how  stupid  you  are.  Please  do  not  leave  the  door  unguard- 
ed." I  went  out  to  the  hall,  then  to  my  room  w^here  I  lay  down  on 
the  bed. 

From  the  dining  room  the  loud  voices  of  Father  Slunin  and 
Gorokhov  reached  me.  I  could  not  fall  asleep  or  concentrate  on  any- 
thing. Bishop  Alexander's  voice  was  not  heard, — apparendy  he  was 
not  participating  in  the  conversation.  About  fifteen  minutes  elapsed. 
Behind  the  partition  separating  my  room  from  the  bedroom  into  which 
Madam  Snegirev  went  in,  I  heard  voices.  I  was  not  drunk  because 
of  my  role  rather  of  waiter  than  guest  I  was  not  supposed  to  par- 
ticipate  in  the  orgy,   although  Bishop  Alexander  himself  had  often 

—  29  — 


expressed  his  passicnate  desire  to  see  me  drunk:  "Oh,  I  would  have 
the  order  of  St.  Stanislaus  conferred  on  you,  Johnnie,  if  you  would 
only  get  dead  drunk !" 

After  a  while  1  realized  that  the  voices  behind  the  partition  were 
those  of  Bishop  Alexander  and  Madam  Snegirev.  I  began  to  suspect 
something  and  the  meaning  of  the  Bishop's  sentence  '*I  told  you  so" 
became  clear  to  me.  1  understood  why  the  Bishop  sent  Father  Snegi- 
rev to  the  telephone  and  why  Archbishop  Platon  gave  him  an  im- 
portant errand,  in  spite  of  Sunday.  This  was  arranged,  of  course, 
in  order  to  remove  all  obstacles. 


A  Smolensk  Polka 

Meanwhile  something  was  happening  in  the  bedroom  because 
1  heard  a  noise.  Finally  a  sound  was  heard  of  something  falling. 
Believing  that  a  brawl  was  taking  place,  I  jumped  ofT  the  bed  and 
ran  to  the  dining  room.  There,  Father  Slunin  hardly  able  to  stand 
on  his  feet,  was  attempting  to  rise.  Gorokhov,  sitting  in  an  arm-chair 
held  him  by  a  sleeve  and  pulled  him, back  to  the  chair,  and  Father 
Slunin  fell  into  it.  Gorokhov  admonished  him :  "Johnnie,  sit  down, 
sit.  .  .  .  What's  the  use  cf  show,ing  your  drunken  mug  to  the 
negroes  in  the  street  ?    Let's  have  another  drink.      .     .     ."     Finally 


—  30 


Father  Slunin  succeeded  in  releasing  his  sleeve  from  Gorokhov's 
hand.  He  overcame  his  intoxication,  got  up,  and  leaned  against  the 
bedroom  door.  It  flew  open  and  at  the  same  time  a  rapping  was  heard 
at  the  entrance  door  which  I  had  closed  after  the  captain  left. 

I  could  not  take  my  eyes  oft  the  picture  I  saw  in  the  bedroom. 


Through  the  open  door  I  beheld  Mam# Snegirev,  lying  on  the  bed 
on  her  back,  with  her  head  towards  the  door.  Bishop  Alexander,  the 
lower  part  of  his  body  bare,  his  trousers  down  on  his  feet,  was  roll- 
ing up  Madam  SnegirCv's  skirt  with  one  hand,  and  holding  his  penis 


—  31   — 


"fully  attuned"  with  the  other.  He  was  trying  to  climb  on  the  bed 
and  lay  down  on  the  woman  who  was  waiting.  His  trousers  were 
in  his  way  and  he  was  wriggling  his  feet  to  shake  them  off.  Alexander 
either  did  not  notice  or  did  not  care  that  the  door  was  open  and  that 
I  was  watching  him.  Intoxicated  not  alone  with  the  great  quantity 
of  liquor  he  had  imbibed  but  also  with  passion,  he  kept  climbing 
into  the  bed.    Finally  he  succeeded  and  fell  on  Madam  Snegirev. 


Bishop  Raphael 

Gorokhov,  without  rising  from  the  arm-chair,  was  calling  to 
Slunin :  "Johnnie,  don't  go  there,  it's  none  of  your  business,  sit  down 
here  you  bald-headed  devil,  you  sit  down."  And  then,  just  at  the 
instant  when  Bishop  Alexander  succeeded  in  falling  on  Madam  Snegi- 
rev, Raphael,  the  Bishop  of  Brooklyn,  entered  the  room.  I  must  have 
closed  the  door  without  snapping  the  lock. 


32 


At  the  sight  of  such  a  "motion"  picture,  Bishop  Raphael  with- 
out exchanging  greetings  with  anyone,  rushed  over  to  Bishop  Alex- 
ander, caught  him  by  the  collar,  dragged  him  off  the  bed,  and  ex- 
claimed :  "Don't  you  fear  God,  you  fool  you  ?  What  arc  you  doing, 
you  drunkard,  you,  in  a  strange  house  and  in  every  one's  presence.  .  .  " 

Alexander  Nemolovsky,  lying  on  the  floor,  shouted:  "Get  out, 
you  Arab  you,  get  out  you  accursed  monk,  with  your  abstinence  !'* 
Released  from  under  Bishop  Alexander,  Madam  Snegirev  first  began 
to  cry  and  then  became  hysterical.  It  was  a  hard  job  to  quiet  her. 
Her  lingerie  anr^  skirt  were  in  shreds.  I  hurried  to  Pasha,  took  her 
skirt    and   brought    it    into    the   bedroom.     I,    myself,  put    it    on   the 


Eests  In  Peace 

woman.  All  shaking,  she  buttoned  the  skirt,  drank  some  water,  and 
sat  down  on  the  bed  with  her  head  in  her  hands.  Bishop  Raphael 
told  me  to  take  her  home,  but  Alexander,  ordering  Raphael  out  of 
the  house,  kept  imploring  her  to  stay,  but  Raphael  himself  took  her 
by  the  hand,  led  her  out  of  the  room,  and  bid  me  to  escort  her  home. 
On  my  return,  Alexander  sent  me  for  Lina  Vassilyevna  Geres, 
a  native  of  the  town  of  Loubchi,  District  of  Novogrudsk,  Government 


—  33  — 


to  her  and  conveyed,  in  a  whisper,  Alexander's  request  to  come  to 
his  apartment,  she  asked  me  aloud,  in  spite  of  her  friends'  presence: 
of  Minsk,  who  resided  in  New  York  at  16  Avenue  A.  When  I  came 
"And  is  Platosha  (dimunitive  for  Platon)  also  there?"  I  asked  her 
not  to  give  him  away,  but  she  declared,  once  more  in  everyone's 
hearing,  that  there  was  nothing  to  hide  because  her  friends  knew 
everything  and  were  frequenters  of  that  place.  "All  right,"  she  added, 
"we'll  come,  there  will  be  work  for  all  of  us.     .     .    ." 

I  took  these  women  to  Bishop  Alexander  and  having  received 
an  order  to  guard  the  door,  took  my  post  in  the  hall.  Durmg  this  eve- 
ning, Bishop  Alexander  "amused"  himself  with  all  the  girls  I  brought. 


The  Dreams  of  Prohibition 

in  turn.  Late  at  night  I  put  the  girls  into  a  taxi,  brought  him  to  his 
apartment,  and  handed  him  over  to  his  servant.  He  was  so  drunk 
that  he  could  hardly  know  why  and  where  he  was  being  taken.  When 
under  the  influence  of  liquor,  he  is  violent— he  fights,  curses  and 
shouts.  From  Gorokhov's  apartment  on  94th  Street,  to  97th  Street, 
where  the  Consistory  and  the  apartments  of  both  Bishops  are  located, 
is  a  short  distance,  but  I  received  a  nimiber  of  blows  from  Alexander 
on  the  way.    He  asked  to  be  given   (here  he  mentioned  an  unprint- 


34 


able  name  for  female  sexual  organs).  The  next  day,  when  I  met  him 
at  the  Consistor)',  I  felt  ashamed  to  face  him,  but  he  was  not  at  all 
abashed,  gave  me  his  blessing  and  issued  orders. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Ivan  Gorhach,  the  ''Specialist" 

Since  then  they  did  not  hesitate  to  give  me  errands  with  which 
they  probably  would  not  have  entrusted  anyone  else.  Besides  having 
to  deliver  confidential  parcels  with  which  they  would  not  trust  the 
post-office,  Dobroff  would  order  me  to  visit  various  people  to  warn 
them  that  say,  a  certain  document  they  wanted  forged,  would  be 
ready  at  such  and  such  a  time,  or  to  report  the  price  of  a  Doctor's, 
Engineer's,  or  Professor's  diploma,  etc.,  etc.  Since  the  number  of 
people  who  were  interested  in  obtaining  forged  documents  was  large, 
the  income  from  this  "business"  was  veiy  great  and  that  'meant  a 
lot  of  work  for  me.  The  money  taken  in  for  the  forged  documents 
was  divided  between  Bishop  Platon,  Bishop  Alexander  and  Dobroff. 
More  than  once  I  would  have  to  go  to  Dobroff  at  Platon's  order,  get 
the  cash  and  bring  it  to  Platon  from  whom  I  received  nothing  but 
verbal  thanks.  Not  infrequently  I  had  to  stay  in  the  Bishops'  apart- 
ments or  in  the  consistory  until  all  hours  of  the  night.  Platon  often 
sent  me  to  bring  him  secretly,  so  that  even  his  servant  would  not 
know,  Lina  Geres,  who,  according  to  his  Eminence  was  *'a  butterfly 
of  indescribable  beauty."  He  would  also  frequently  send  me  for 
Archpresbyter  Peter  Ignatyevitch  Popov.  Whenever  Popov  could  not 
be  found,  he  would  send  me  for  one,  Ivan  Gorbach,  a  very  handsome, 
pale-faced  Pole,  who  was  a  chorister  at  the  Polish  Church  on  Seventh 
Street.  Always,  whenever  I  brought  these  people  to  the  Archbishop, 
he  would  comand  me  to  stand  at  the  door  and  not  to  allow  anyone, 
with  the  exception  of  Bishop  Alexander  to  as  much  as  to  mount  the 
stairs.  I  was  also  ordered  never  to  admit  Raphael,  the  Bishop  of 
Brooklyn. 

Once,  being  "on  sentry  duty"  and  feeling  rather  bored,  I  re- 
minded myself  that  servants  in  such  cases  usually  while  away  their 

—  35  — 


time  by  peeping  through  the  key-hole  and  I  resolved  to  resort  to  the 
same  means  of  amusement.  And  here  is  what  I  saw  with  my  own 
eyes  :  Archbishop  Platon  would  disrobe,  lie  down  in  the  bed  and  would 
make  the  woman  "massage"  him.  Besides  Lina,  a  certain  woman,  a 
priest's  wife  and  "dentist"  whom  I  shall  name  when  necessary,  would 
come  to  him.  The  woman  would  lie  down  so  that  Archbishop  Platon's 
head  would  come  between  her  legs.  She  would  caress  his  penis  with 
her  nipples,  while  Platon  licked  her  sexual  parts  with  his  tongue. 
Following  the  "massage"  they  would  perform  the  sexual  act,  after 
which  both  lay  like  dead  ones  and  after  having  come  to,  rubbed  each 
other  with  eau-de-cologne. 

As  for  the  male  "massage",  it  varied.  Archpresbyter  Popov  first 
put  some  cold  cream  on  his  hand,  then  rubbed  Platon's  testicles  and 
penis.  When  the  "massage"  had  the  desired  effect,  the  Archpresbyter 
would  lie  down  on  his  stomach  and  Platon  perform  the  act  through 
Popov's  rectum.  This  was  also  followed  by  a  period  of  rest  and 
mutual  perfume  rubbing,  after  which  Platon,  remaining  in  bed,  but 
now  fully  dressed,  would  send  Archpresbyter  Fopov  to  his  duties  at 
the  Consistory. 

Ivan  Gorbach  did  the  "massaging"  not  with  his  hand  but  with 
his  tongue.  He  licked,  and  sucked  Archbishop  Platon's  penis  until 
it  stiffened  and  then,  like  Father  Peter  Popov,  would  expose  his  rec- 
tum to  Platon  for  intercourse,  but  apparently  being  a  greater  "ex- 
pert" in  this  line  than  Popov,  kept  changing  the  position  of  his  body 
so  as  to  make  the  act  more  enjoyable  for  the  Archbishop.  I  once 
saw  with  my  own  eyes,  how  after  such  an  act  of  Pederasty  the  Arch- 
bishop gave  Gorbach  five  one-hundred  dollar  notes  and  when  I  was 
sent  to  fetch  him  the  next  time  and  asked  him  what  he  had  done 
with  the  "saintly"  Prelate's  $500,  Gorbach  replied :  "Do  you  think 
that  is  the  only  $500  I  ever  got?  I  get  as  much  for  every  visit  to 
Platon.  Your  friend  Alexander,  however,  is  either  poorer  or  more  of 
a  miser.  He  never  nays  me  more  than  $300  for  a  massage ;  some- 
times he  complains  that  he  was  robbed  and  gi^^es  me  less  than  that. 
And  besides  he  is  a  peculiar,  foolish  fellow.  .  .  .  To  massage 
Platon  is  a  pleasure.  He  is  a  man  with  understanding,  while  Alex- 
ander is  nervous,  and  does  not  do  the  right  thing.  Many  a  time  I 
have  promised  myself  not  to  go  to  him,  and  I  am  going  to  keep  my 
promise.  If  he  sends  for  me,  I'll  refuse  to  go.  What  he  needs  is  a 
boor,  not  a  specialist." 

All   this   did  not  agree  with  me  and   I   asked  the  Father  Arch- 

—  36  — 


as  "guard"  bored  me  to  death.  Father  Slunin  promised  to  help  me, 
but  said  that  while  I  was  to  go  on  with  my  former  errands,  I  was 
also  to  be  given  a  few  others  for  variety's  sake.  And  indeed,' Father 
Slunin  told  me  soon  afterwards  that  my  place  would  be  for  the  time 
being  taken  by  Archpresbyter  Popov  and  that  I  was  to  accompany 
Father  Slunin  to  an  inquest. 


Father  Daniel  Gileviteh 

CHAPTER  XL 

At  the  Inquest 

The  next  day  Father  Slunin  and  I  left  for  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 
There  we  were  met  by  Yakov  Piatetsky,  whose  affidavit  both  in  Eng- 
lish and  in  Russian,  reads  as  follows  : 

"March   4,    1922. 

" Jeanette,  Pa. ' 
"STATEMENT 
"In  the  middle  of  March,  1914,  while  I  resided  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pa.,  a  certain  person  came  to  my  residence  and — in 
the  presence  of  John  Feoktistofif  Dudikoff — introduced  him- 
self as  a  Russian  Consul  Rutzky,  requesting  me  to  serve  as 
plain  companion  on  his  ofncial  trip  to  Jermyn,  Pa. 

"Leaving  AA'ilkes-Barre   for  New  York  City — he  asked 

-  37  — 


me  to  furnish  him  a  considerable  sum  of  money  as  his  ex- 
penses overran  his  expectations.  Acting  in  great  haste  as  a 
train  was  ready  to  leave  the  station,  I  handed  to  "consul" 
requested  sum  of  money  in  presence  and  to  full  knowledge 
of  John  F.  Dudikoff,  being  unable  to  receive  any  receipt  for 
given  amount,  only  with  promise  of  immediate  return. 

*'After  long  lapse  of  years,  being  unable  to  discover  any 
trace  of  whereabouts  of  said  "Consul,"  I  met  him  unex- 
pectedly in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  to  my  surprise  I  found  out 
that  said  person  was  impostor  of  Consul  Rutzky,  and  that 
his  real  name  was  Daniel  Gilevich. 

((Signed)  Rev.  James  Piatetsky." 
"P.  S.    Money  has  never  ben  returned,  exact  amount  of 
which  is  known  also  to  J.  Dudikoff. 

(Signed)  Rbv.  James  Piatetsky." 
Father  Slunin  said  that  Consul  Rutzky  had  also  come  to  Wilkes- 
Barre.  We  found  him  in  a  hotel  in  dress  uniform,  his  breast  covered 
with  medals  and  crosses.  We  made  his  acquaintance  and  together  with 
this  pseudo-Rutzky  (it  turned  out  that  he  was  a  former  village  police- 
man and  at  present  a  clergyman,  Daniel  Gilevich)  we  went  to  German, 
Pa. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Clergymen  Administer  "Justice" 

The  following  were  called  to  the  inquest :  Vassily  Repelo,  the 
defendant  and  at  present  priest  and  provost  with  the  Mission,  and 
Marie  Lubkuch,  the  plaintiff,  her  father,  and  a  number  of  witnesses. 
Father  Slunin  had  them  all  sworn  in,  "Consul  Rutsky,  alias  Daniel 
Gilevitch,  cross-examined  them,  and  I  took  down  the  testimony. 
Piatetsky  acted  as  assistant  secretary.  The  inquest  made  it  clear  that 
Vassily  Repelo,  having  lured  the  girl  Marie  Lubkuch  for  a  walk  on 
the  cemetery,  violated  her  at  a  headstone  representing  an  angel  with 
a  cross  in  his  hands.  Vassily  Repelo  admitted  his  guilt  and  implored 
that  his  youth  be  taken  into  consideration  and  that  an  attempt  be  made 
to  reconcile  him  with  Marie.    He  promised  to  pay  her  father  $5,000. 

—  38  — 


He  paid  this  sum  in  full  and  handed  it  to  "Consul"  Rutzky  who  turn- 
ed it  over  to  Father  Slunin,  remarking :  "This  inquest  is  being  carried 
on  by  the  Church  Mission  and  the  money  must  therefore  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  defendant  through  the  medium  of  the  Church.  Give 
the  money  to  Archbishop  Platon,  and  you,  Lubkuch,  sign  a  receipt 
for  it  at  once  because  the  money  has  been  turned  over  in  your  pres- 
ence. When  you  present  this  receipt  to  the  Bishop,  he  will  give  you 
the  money.    Should  you  wish  to  thank  the  Church  for  its  trouble,  you 


HcV  Fathers  Under  Charge 

3.  Father  W.  liepelo 

4.  Father  T.  Melasevich 

5.  P.  Popofif,   Archpresbyter 

1.  Father  Krochmalny 

2.  Father  Kukulevsky' 

may  donate  a  thousand  dollars  or  so  to  Archbishop  Platon  for  chari- 
table purposes."  Father  Slunin  put  the  money  into  his  pocket,  and 
promised  Lubkuch  to  send  the  money  that  very  week.    As  it  turned 


—  39 


out,  the  money  was  never  sent.  On  the  way  back  to  New  York,  Father 
Slunin,  who  sat  in  front  of  me,  paid  Daniel  Gilevitch  for  having 
played  the  part  of  ''Consul." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  Daylight  Robbery 

At  the  railroad  station  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Gilevitch  in  my  presence 
borrowed  money  of  Piatetsky  promising  to  send  it  back  to  him  by 
special  delivery  as  soon  as  he  returned  to  New  York.  I  did  not  realize 
then  that  a  daylight  robbery  was  taking  place  before  my  very  eyes. 
On  our  arrival  in  New  York,  Archbishop  Platon  thanked  both  Slunin 
and  myself  very  heartily  for  having  amicably  settled  so  serious  a 
matter.  Having  accepted  of  Slunin  the  money  he  brought  from  Ger- 
man, Pa.,  the  Bishop  told  us  to  rest  and  then  leave  for  an  inquest  at 
Quatasaqua,  Pa.  Once  more  Gilevitch  and  Father  Piatetsky  went  to 
Wilkes-Barre  on  church  matters  escorting  Bishop  Alexander  to  the 
inquest  to  be  held  in  the  case  of  Anton  •Repelo,  brother  of  Vassili. 
Anton  had  also  raped  a  woman.  We  put  up  in  the  same  hotel  and 
were  assigned  the  same  suite  as  before.  The  next  day  Bishop  Alex- 
ander and  I  went  to  the  local  bank  where  we  drew  $35,000.  What 
money  it  was  and  wdiere  it  came  from  I  do  not  know.  This  sum, 
together  with  other  money,  was  put  into  a  portfolio  which  was  usual- 
ly kept  in  a  valise  I  had  in  my  care. 

On  returning  to  the  hotel  we  found  Archbishop  Platon  w^ho  had 
just  arrived  together  with  the  wife  of  Priest  Kokhannik  and  Father 
and  Madam  Snegirev.  A  sumptuous  dinner  with  abundant  drinks 
followed,  and  lasted  until  evening.  I  went  to^my  room  and  do  not  know 
how  our  clergy  spent  the  night.  I  do  know,  however,  that,  unknown 
to  the  others,  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Kokhannik  spent  the  night  in  the 
same  hotel. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  Bishops  called  me  in  and 
asked  me  for  the  portfolio  in  which,  besides  the  money,  there  were 
also  many  important  papers.  I  opened  the  bureau  into  which  I  had 
put  the  valise  with  the  portfolio,  and  handed  it  Alexander  who,  on 

—  40  — 


opening  it,  gasped.  The  money  was  not  there.  Bishop  Alexander  be- 
gan to  shout:  "My  lord!  What's  this?!  Surely  the  work  of  Satan! 
There  was  $115,000  in  the  valise." 

It  was  clear  what  had  become  of  the  money.  Mother  Kokhannik 
had  access  to  all  the  papers  and  moneys.  She  was  the  Bishops'  favor- 
ite, and  spent  the  night  with  them  in  their  apartment  where  the  bureau 
stood.  Later  on  it  turned  out  that  my  surmise  was  correct.  This  I 
gathered    from    Mother  Kokhannik's   conversation   with   the   Bishops 


Arelipresbyter  Peter  Kokhannik 

and  from  the  remarks  Father  Snegirev  passed  after  having  chanced 
upon  Father  Kokhannik  in  the  hotel.  When  the  Bishops  told  Mother 
Kokhannik  about  the  loss,  she  answered  :  'Why  do  you  want  to  tor- 
ment me  in  vain?" 

The  police  and  detectives  were  summoned  but  when  they  began 
to  probe  into  the  affair,  rather  deeply,  the  Bishops  found  their  cur- 


41 


iosity  too  dangerous  and  tried  hard  to  get  rid  of  the  "inquisitive"  rep- 
resentatives of  Law  and  Order  so  as  to  keep  the  thing  secret.  They 
must  have  been  "out  of  luck."  They  had  to  pay  the  detectives  $3,000 
to  hush  up  the  matter.  Where  they  got  the  money  I  do  not  know. 
They  had  great  difficulty  in  calming  the  frenzied  woman  who  kept 
screaming  and  shouting  about  her  right  to  the  money  since  old  men 
were   using  her   body.     She   threatened   to    disclose   everything   even 


The  Eussian  St.  Nicholas  vJaiiie  .ral 

though  she  herself  might  suffer.  During  this  row  she  slapped  Bishoi> 
Alexander  on  the  face  twice  and  yelled :  'Tou  think  you  can  do  any- 
thing you  please  with  me  and  then  give  me  nothing  but  your  thanks? 
«    .    .    No,  you'll  have  to  pay  dearly!" 

We  got  our  belongings  together  and  returned  to  New  York  from- 
the  "inquest"  very  much  disheartned.    It  will  he  a  propos  to  mention 


42  — 


the  extravagant  purchase  of  the  MetropoHtans,  Platon  and  Alexander. 
They  spent  $75,000  in  a  jeweh-y  store  on  Broadway  for  a  pearl  neck- 
lace, a  present  for  Mother  Kokhannik.  Alexander  also  presented 
Madam  Kokhannik,  the  conqueror  of  the  Bishops'  hearts,  who  used 
to  arrange  all  sorts  of  "baths"  for  the  ''princes  of  the  Church,"  as 
well  as  "Athenian  evenings,"  with  a  trifle — a  $35,000  diamond  neck- 
lace. Archbishop  Alexander,  having  escaped  from  his  Diocese  to 
Paris  on  account  of  a  warrant  for  his  arrest,  left  unpaid  debts  to  the 


Interior  of  St.  Nicholas  Cathedral 

amount  of  $200,000.  I  am  in  a  position  to  prove  where  they  obtained 
part  of  the  money  they  spent,  because  I  am  familiar  with  their  books 
as  well  as  with  their  accounts  in  some  of  the  banks.  I  have  positive 
proofs  of  my  assertions. 


-"-  CHAPTER  XIV. 

More   "Inquests" 

On  the  way  to  Ouatasaqua,  in  a  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  express 
train,  the  "Consul"  and  the  Archpresbyter  asked  me  to  keep  an  eye 
on  their  seats  while  they  went  to  the  dining  car  for  dinner.  They  ate 
all  the  way  into  Allentown,  thus  giving  me  no  chance  for  my  dinner. 
At  Allentown  we  changed  for  another  train,  because  the  express  did 


—  43 


presbyter  to  give  me  errands  of  a  different  nature  because  my  acting 
not  stop  at  Quatasaqua.  In  Quatasaqua  an  mquest  was  held  in  the 
matter  of  the  Priest-"Celibate,"  John  Olchevsky.  The  "inquest" 
proved  that  Priest  Olchevsky  was  also  implicated  in  a  scandalous  story 
of  fornication  with  a  girl  Tatiana.  To  the  Olchevsky  "inquest"  Gile- 
vitch  invited  the  police  with  a  constable  at  the  head.  Olchevsky  ad- 
mitted that  he  had  intoxicated  Tatiana,  seduced  her  and  continued 
to  cohabit  with  her,  making  her  take  powders  in  order  to  stimulate  sex 
excitement  every  evening.  Olchevsky,  who  is  employed  by  the  Mission 
to  this  day,  gave  Tatiana  $1,000  and  she  left  him. 

After  the  "inquest"  the  police  were  given  a  treat  and  "Consul" 
D.  Gilevitch  and  Father  Slunin  locked  themselves  into  a  room  with 
Olchevsky,  and  when  they  came  out,  after  quite  a  while,  Olchevsky 
w^as  overheard  saying,  as  though  continuing  his  conversation :  "Please 
be  good  enough  to  convey  my  gift  and  my  humble  request  to  spare  me 
to  the  Archbishop  and  to  his  Eminence  Alexander." 

Father  Slunin  answered  reassuringly :  "Well,  don't  worry,  sleep 
well.  Who  among  us  has  not  sinned?  I  shall  convey  your  repentance 
and  request  to  the  Holy  Prelates.  They  are  no  wolves,  they  won't 
eat  you." 

Soon  after  our  return  to  New  York  a  complaint  was  received 
from  Madam  Samoseiko  who  maintained  that  her  husband,  Priest 
Samoseiko,  had  been  caught  by  her  in  flagrant  delictu  with  Marpha 
Terebillo.  We  called  on  Father  Samoseiko  and  having  looked  into  the 
matter,  succeeded  in  effecting  a  reconciliation.  Terebillo  was  given 
money  and  promised  not  to  pass  by  the  priest's  apartment  nor  the 
street  of  his  residence. 

We  had  to  look  into  another  matter  in  which  the  same  priest 
was  involved.  After  a  quarrel  with  his  parishioners,  he  set  fire  to  the 
church  which  burned  down  to  the  ground. 

Soon  after  this  Slunin  and  myself  were  sent  to  Mayfield,  Pa.,  for 
an  investigation  of  the  misbehavior  of  the  then  prkit  and  now  Arch- 
presbyter  and  Provost,  John  Miliasewi^-^h.  Three  claimants  to  the 
affections  of  Father  Miliasewich  appeared  before  us.  One  pregnant 
girl  declared  that  she  did  not  w'sh  to  hear  of  Miliasewich  who  sum- 
moned her  to  his  apartment  for  an  "explanation  of  the  Holy  Spirit" 
and  then  violated  her  instead.  She  demanded  that  he  pay  her  for 
her  dishonor  and  for  his  failure  to  keep  his  promise  to  marry  her, 
and  because  she  was  now  disgraced  and  had  to  leave  her  town.  The 
other  two  girls  both  demanded  immediate  marriage  from  Miliase- 
wich.    Father  Slunin  was  to  perform  the  ceremony  on  the  spot.  The 

—  44  — 


last  two  claimants  ended  by  having  a  hair  puUing  match.  With  great 
difficulty  we  finally  succeeded  in  settling  with  all  the  three  fiancees 
of  Father  Johna.  They  calmed  down  after  they  received  their  money. 
Father  Slunin  also  received  a  gift  from  Miliasewich  for  both  the 
Archbishop  and  Bishop.  What  become  of  the  gift,  I  don't  know. 
Father  Slunin  returned  to  New  York,  and  I — to  the  Swiato-Tikhon 
Monastery    where    Bishop   Alexander   happened   to   be   at   the   time. 


'  The  .Ileroine  of  Atlieiis  Baths 

He  inquired  about  the  "inquest"  and  asked  me  to  keep  an  eye  on  the 
fraternity  that  evening. 

Soon  a  coach  appeared  in  the  court  with  a  woman  in  the  attire 
of  a  Roman-Catholic  nun.  She  went  direct  to  Bishop  Alexander, 
and  the  Abbot  Nikon  immediately  ordered  the  monks  to  go  to  church. 
They  did  so.  One  of  them  remarked  to  me  on  the  way :  "It  would 
be  quite  interesting  to  overhear  the  conversatoin  between  the  Greek 


45 


Orthodox  Bishop  and  the  Roman  CathoHc  nun." — ''Why  then  don't 
you  try  to  Hsten  in?"  was  my  question.  To  this  the  monk  waved 
his  hand  and  repHed :  "We  are  plain  monks,  and  poor  in  the  bargain. 
I  have  watched  the  Bishops  more  than  once,  but  it  only  caused  me 
annoyance,  may  the  Lord  forgive  me."  The  monk  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  and  entered  the  church,  and  I,  being  only  human,  and  over- 
come by  curiosity,  stepped  to  the  door  of  Alexander's  room  and 
peeped  through  the  keyhole.  What  I  beheld  was  very  much  like  what 
I  had  seen  in  Platon's  apartment  before  this.  Bishop  Alexander  took 
a  sponge  and  washed  the  nun  between  the  legs.  Then,  having  sucked 
her  rather  full  breasts,  he  began  to  tickle  her  womb  with  his  tongue. 
About  an  hour  and  a  half  later  the  monks  assembled  in  the  mess  hall. 
Bishop  Alexander  came  there  and  in  a  touching  speech  told  them 
how  to  keep  their  monastic  vows  all  through  life.  He  cited  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Roman  Catholic  nun  who  had  just  visited  him  and  who 
enjoyed  a  far-reaching  reputation  as  a  "miracle  worker."  He  stated 
that  she  reached  her  position  of  pre-eminence  because  of  her  inces- 
sant prayers  and  because  of  her  rigid  celibacy.  Being  unable  to  listen 
to  Bishop  y\lexander's  hypocrisy  any  longer,  I  pretented  to  be  suf- 
fering from  a  headache  and  left  the  mess  hall. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

7  Fay  for  the  Father's  Dinner. 

As  far  back  as  January  I  took  back  from  Platon  the  money  I 
had  given  him  for  safekeeping.  In  April  I  spent  a  few  months  in 
Philadelphia,  assisting  Fadier  Alexis  Gromstev  with  his  parochial 
work.  After  that  1  returned  to  New^  York.  Early  in  May  Father 
Ivan  Slunin  came  to  me  and  after  greeting  me,  told  me  that  he  was 
in  great  trouble.  To  my  question  as  to  the  cause  of  his  distress,  he 
replied  that  the  Andrei  Church  in  Philadelphia  was  to  be  sold  hi  a 
few  days.  "Too  bad,"  he  continued,  "we  have  a  bank  of  our  own, 
lend  out  money  on  mortgages  to  strangers,  and  now^  this  is  happening 
to  our  own  property  and  ...  we  are  helpless.  It's  a  sure  sign  of  war 
when  people  carry  their  money  in  purses  or  put  it  in  Sheeny  banks 

—  46  — 


instead  of  depositing  it  in  their  own  Greek  Orthodox  Bank.  You, 
too,  Ivan  Feoktitstowich,  whom  we  may  call  our  own  Brother,  a  mem- 
ber of  our  Consistory  family — where  do  you  keep  your  money,  eh? 
With  the  Sheenies  .  .  .  You  have  money  and  we  have  a  Mission 
Bank,  but  we  must  have  cash.  What  we  need  is  a  new  deposit. 
Give  us  your  money  and  we  will  give  you  a  regular  bank  book.  We 
have  none  on  hand  now — they  are  being  reprinted  because  we  have 
used  up  the  old  ones.  Until  then  we  will  give  you  as  security  shares 
in  the  Oil  Field  Co.  (one  of  the  richest  of  Companies)  which  has  if-s 
naptha  wells  between  the  Caspian  and  Azov  Seas.  These  shares 
were  issued  at  $5,000.00,  but  their  present  value  is  $42,000.  Please 
take  them  but  only  as  security.  Don't  sell  them  to  anyone  and  return 
them  to  us.  You  will  receive  interest  on  your  money  and  you  may 
have  it  back  whenever  you  please,  even  at  one  o'clock  at  night." 

As  I  had  once  given  my  money  to  Archbishop  Platon  for  safe- 
Iceeping  in  his   Mission   Bank  and   received  it  back  on  demand,  but 
without  interest,  because  as  I  was  told,  one  is  entitled  to  interest  only 
after  a  deposit  has  been  in  the  bank  for  a  year,  I  went  to  Max  Kobre's 
Bank,  drew  $3,000.00,  brought  it  with  me,  but  was  very  reluctant  to 
part  wath  it.     Father  Slunin  began  to  persuade  me,  in  Platon's  pre- 
sence, to  deposit  my  money  in  the  Mission  Bank,  because,  he  said,  all 
American  banks  are   Sheeny  banks  and  fail  continually.     I  counted 
out  v$2,800.00  and  handed  it  over  to  Father  Slunin,  the  Treasurer  of 
the   Bank,    in   the   presence   of    Platon    and   another   witness,    Carol 
Sochko.    Two  days  later  I  took  from  Mr.  Khudobenko  my  $5,000.00 
which  he  kept  in  the  safe  and,  in  the  presence  of  the  above  mentioned 
persons,  deposited  it  in  the  Alission  Bank.  Archbishop  Platon  counted 
the  money  and  told  me  that  I  had  nothing  to  fear  because  the  Mis- 
sion Bank  was  stronger  than  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar.     "You  will  get 
money  back  as  soon  as  you  demand  it.     Meanwhile  take  these  shares 
and  later  on  you  will  get  your  pass  book."    I  was  handed  two  papers 
with  ten  shares  of  the  Oil  Field  Co.  in  each,  and  Archbishop  Platon 
added:     "In  our  bank  your  money  will  be  safer  than  in  any  Amer- 
ican bank.     I  stake  my  head  on  that." 

I  had  $300.00  left  with  me.  In  token  of  gratitude,  Father  Slunin 
'and  Father  John  Chepelev,  his  assistant,  invited  me  to  take  dinner 
with  them.  We  went  to  Little  Hungary,  one  of  the  richest  hotel- 
restaurants,  and  Father  Slunin  ordered  a  most  elaborate  dinner  with 
■champagne,  etc.  At  the  dinner  the  Fathers  told  me  that  Platon  was 
so  good-natured  and  liked  me  so  much  that  he  expressed  his  wish  to 

—  47  — 


have  me  near  his  person  as  Vice-Bishop.  I  refused  this  honor  flatly. 
We  were  handed  a  bill  for  the  dinner.  The  Fathers  began  to  squirm 
in  their  chairs,  search  in  their  pockets,  in  their  socks,  and  finally  told 
me  that  they  had  forgotten  to  take  money  along.  They  asked  me  to 
help  them  out  in  this  difficult  situation  by  footing  the  bill.  I  hesi- 
tated ....  The  fathers  then  told  me  that  they  had  thousands  of  dol- 
lars at  home  and  would  refund  the  money,  and  as  a  friend  I  was 
under  obligation  to  get  Father  Slunin,  who  ordered  the  dinner,  out 
of  a  scrape.  "Next  week,"  they  coaxed  me,  "we'll  treat  you  to  an 
evert  better  supper,  at  which  there  will  be  the  most  beautiful  women 
of  New  York." 

There  was  nothing  else  left  for  me  to  do  but  pay  $115.00  for  the 
dinner  for  three.  At  the  Father's  request,  I  gave  the  waiter  a  $5.00 
tip.  On  leaving  the  hotel  the  Fathers  began  to  feel  uneasy  about 
having  spent  so  much  time  with  me,  while  in  the  Consistory  both 
Alexander  and  Platon  himself  must  have  asked  for  them  more  than 
once.  They  implored  me  to  send  them  home  in  an  automobile.  I 
offered  to  go  with  them,  but  they  did  not  want  it  known  that  they 
had  been  out  with  me.  'Tf  someone  squeals  about  our  spree  at  the 
wrong  time,  we  shall  be  severely  reprimanded,"  they  objected.  Father 
Chepelev  went  for  a  taxi,  and  Father  Slunin  asked  me  for  a  personal 
loan  of  $50.00  until  the  next  day.  Since  he  had  borrowed  from  me 
before  this  and  returned  the. money,  T  gave  him  $50.00  for  himself 
and  $10.00  for  the  machine.  Father  Slunin  kept  his  word  and  re- 
turned the  $50.00  the  very  next  day.  The  Fathers  left  in  a  closed 
car.  I  surmised  that  they  went  not  to  the  Consistory,  but  to  a  "con- 
ference" with  the  fair  sex.  This  they  did  not  wish  me  to  know  oi 
\vitness. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Russian  Spies  in  America. 

Before  proceeding  any  further,  it  will  be  necessary  to  acquaint 
ourselves  with  the  "Okhrankas'  " — Secret  Service,  another  phase  of 
the  unwholesome  influence  of  Platon.  These  "Okhrankas"  were  con- 
nected with  the  Russian  Consulate  in  New  York  and  employed  agents,, 

—  48  — 


priests,  psalm-readers  and  hangers-on  from  the  various  offices  which 
sold  steamship  tickets,  exchanged  currency,  etc.  The  chief  occupa- 
tion of  these,  however,  was  to  supply  white  slaves  to  the  East  97th 
Street  "establishment."  They  served  the  powers  to  be  on  East  97th 
Street,  as  well  as  the  monks  who  came  there  from  all  over  the  coun- 
try. Very  often  the  victims  of  these  dealers  in  "recreation"  for  the 
Holy  Prelates  disappeared  mysteriously.  Agents,  disguised  as  Amer- 
ican offifficials  from  various  departments,  would  be  sent  to  the  numer- 
ous towns  and  cities  of  the  United  States,  South  America  and  Canada 
for  roping   in  and   exploiting  Russian   immigrants. 


The  Works  of  Hcly  Fathers. 

The  methods  us°a\  by  these  agents  were  many  and  varied :  naive 
and  ignorant  "countrymen"  would  be  intimidated,  or  promised  lucra- 
tive positions,  or  the  advantage  of  being  ordained  as  priests,  etc. — 
all  with  the  object  of  making  them  part  with  their  bank  books.  These 
they  were  asked  to  hand  over  "for  safekeeping"  to  the  Holy  Fathers 
and  their  minions.  Whenever  their  savings  were  withdrawn  from 
the  bank,  they  were,  as  a  rule,  turned  over  to  his  Holy  Eminence, 
the  Righ  Reverend  Master  and  Archbishop  of  the  Russian  Greek- 
Orthodox    Mission   of   North   America,   Canada   and  Alaska,   Metro- 


—  49 


politan  Platon,  who  is  at  present  in  this  country,  in  the  City  of  New- 
York,  at  15  East  97th  Street,  and  has  proclaimed  himself,  without 
any  authority,  as  the  representative  of  the  All-Russian  Patriarch 
Tikhon,  and  as  independent  Russian  spiritual  ruler  of  North  and 
South  America  and  Canada.  Those  who  were  cheated  out  of  their 
money  were  given  packages  with  Metropolitan  Platon's  sealing  wax 
stamp,  which  he  either  applied  in  person  or  had  his  secretary.  Arch- 
presbyter  John  Slunin  apply. 

Whenever  the  simple  folk  made  an  attempt  to  complain  to  the 
authorities,   Platon's  confederates,  who  had  expected  this  course  of 


Their  Friend,  Gregory  Easputin. 

action,  would  arrest  them  for  no  cause  whatever,  knowing  that  these 
helpless  people,  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  would  be  intimi- 
dated. When,  on  the  other  hand,  victims  attempted  to  protest,  a 
worse  fate  befell  them — they  were  "lost"  or  their  dead  bodies  were 
picked  up  somewhere,  and  the  death  recorded  as  "dead,  cause  un- 
Icnown."  As  a  rule,  however,  after  having  robbed  the  simpletons, 
they  persuaded  them  to  go  back  to  Russia,  telling  them  that  well- 
paying  positions  awaited  them  there.  They  shipped  them  on  the  boats 
of  the  Scandinavian  Line,  mainly  to  Libau,  where  immediately  upon 


50 


arrival  they  were  put  to  death  or  sent  to  the  Peter  Paul  Fortress  and 
subjected  to  most  inhuman  tortures. 

I  have  in  my  possession  a  list  of  these  "agents"  and  assistants 
of  Platon,  as  well  as  the  names  of  a  considerable  number  of  victims 
of  this  Church  "Okhranka."  These  I  will  reveal,  in  due  time,  only 
to  the  United  States  Attorney  General  in  Washington. 

Besides  all  these  crimes  I  can  prove  still  another  very  important 
brutal  and  savage  crime  committed  by  Archbishop  Platon  Rozhde- 
stvensky,  leader  of  the  Greek-Orthodox  Mission  in  America,  and  his 
assistant.  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  togeher  with  many  other 
minions  of  theirs.  This  crime  was  the  murder  of  a  woman  and  took 
place  at  Canaan,  Pa.,  at  the  Swdato-Tikhonovsk  Monastery  in  August, 
1913.  The  woman,  w^hose  name  I  will  reveal  to  the  United  States 
Attorney  General,  was  first  violated,  then  killed;  her  heart  was  cut 
out  and  burned  to  ashes,  which  were  then  pounded  into  powder  and 
taken  with  wine.     After  this  atrocity  wild  orgies  followed. 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

/  Am  Attacked,  Robbed  and  Imprisoned. 

To  proceed  with  the  story,  a  few  months  after  I  deposited  my 
money  at  the  Mission  Bank,  i.  e.,  in  the  Spring  of  1914,  and  after  the 
dinner  to  which  Platon's  preists  "treated  me,"  the  following  took 
place.  One  of  Platon's  gents,  disguised  as  a  sheriff,  came  to  see 
me,  and  to  my  question  as  to  the  object  of  his  visit,  said  that  he  was 
ordered  to  deport  a  batch  of  political  offenders  to  Russia.  This  in- 
terested me,  and  I  went  with  him  to  a  pier  in  Brooklyn  from  which 
the  steamers  for  Libau  sailed.  Having  arrived  there,  I  actually  saw 
fifteen  political  prisoners  handcuffed  in  pairs  and  kept  in  the  hold 
behind  iron  bars.  After  the  steamer  sailed,  the  agent  took  his  leave 
and  disappeared.  I  met  a  comrade  of  mine,  a  former  Russian  Army 
officer. ,  We  went  home  together.  On  the  way  we  stepped  into  a 
saloon  for  a  soda.  We  stayed  and  talked  a  while.  After  leaving  the 
saloon  we  had  walked  by  a  few  steps,  when  I  was  suddenly  dealt  from 
behind  a  heavy  blow  on  the  head.  Bleeding  profusely,  I  fell  down 
and  lost  consciousness.     The  officer  had  disappeared. 

—  51  — 


When  I  regained  consciousness,  I  found  myself  in  jail,  still 
bleeding.  My  money-belt  was  with  me  but  empty.  A  few  days  later 
I  was  taken  to  Court.  There  I  met  the  proprietor  of  the  saloon  and 
the  Army  officer,  who  had  disappeared  at  the  time  I  was  struck  down. 
To  my  question,  what  had  happened,  they  both  answered  that  the 
shooting  had  occured  as  soon  as  we  left  the  saloon,  and  that  they  had 
run  away  for  cover.    They  could  not  relate  what  had  happened  after 


Ambassador  Yuri  Baklimetyev. 

that.  I  was  landed  in  jail  because  a  revolver  was  found  about  my 
person,  although  I  had  a  special  permit  to  carry  one,  signed  by  Yuri 
Bakhmetyev,  the  Russian  Ambassador  and  his  Attache,  Vassilyev. 
This  permit,  together  with  my  other  papers  and  money,  had  disap- 
peared and  that  it  why  I  was  arrested.  Some  time  later  Ilya  Rosen- 
thal and  Victor  Hartz,  attorney  for  the  Russian  General  Consulate, 


—  52 


then  located  at  Washington  Square,  New  York,  came  to  see  me  in 
prison.     Victor  Hartz  issued  stringent  orders  to  me  not  to  disclose 
anything  about  residence,  my  work  or  the  machinations  of  the  Rus- 
sian   spies   employed   by    the    Russian    Orthodox    Mission   under   the 
management  of  Archbishop  Platon,  the  leader  of  the  Mission,  and  in 
the  General  Consulate  under  the  leadership  of  Baron  Schlippenbach, 
General  Oustinov  and  Mr.  Rutzky.    I  was  ordered  to  keep  my  council 
about  all  I  knew.     P^or  example,  I  knew  that  on  the  eve  of  my  arrest 
members  of  the  Consulate  and  of  the  Mission  went  to  Fort  Hamil- 
ton in  Brooklyn  and  Governor's  Island,  w^here  they  took  photographs 
of  the  fortifications.     This  they  accomplished  by  bribing  heavily  the 
Poles,  Russians  and  Lithuanians  who  served  in  the  U.  S.  Army  de- 
tachments, and  were  quartered  in  these  forts.     I  knew  that  espionage 
ran  rampart,  but  it  was  not  clear  to  me  for  whom  it  was  carried  on. 
This  became  plain  to  me  when  I  returned  to  Russia,  only  to  learn 
that  the  Secret  Service  work  of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Mission  and 
of  the  General  Consulate  of  the  Russian  Embassy  was  in  behalf  of 
the  Germans.     By  mere  chance  I  happened  to  see  a  few  snapshots 
of   American    forts,    American    ammunition    plants    and   many   other 
photographs  of  military  significance  in  the  hands  of  the  German  gen- 
eral whose  nam.e   I  know.     These  photographs  were  transmitted  to 
Germany  by  Archbishop  Platon,  who,  having  accomplished  his  task, 
left  for  Russia.     This  does  not  complete  the  sum  total  of  Platon's 
crimes,  but  more  of  that  later  on. 

On  leaving  me,  Hartz  told  me  not  to  worry  because  I  would  be 
released  in  a  da}^  or  two.  But  I  was  not  released.  Instead,  I  was 
taken  to  various  prisons,  workhouses,  islands  and  houses  of  detention, 
where  I  was  photographed  in  different  postures  and  had  my  finger- 
prints taken.  This  went  on  for  exactly  fifty  days,  after  which  time 
I  was  finallv  released. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
/  Return  to  Russia. 


Immediately  after  I  was  set  free,  I  came  to  the  Russian  Consis- 
tory on  East  97th  Street,  where  I  found  Bishop  Alexander  Nemo- 
lovsky  and  the  Secretary,  Father  Peter  Kokhannik.    To  my  question, 


—  53 


"VV^hat  did  you  do  with  me?"  Bishop  Alexander  and  Father  Kok- 
hannik  repHed:  ''Thank  God,  you  are  still  living  and  don't  worry 
about  anything  else— we  have  not  forsaken  you  and  shall  not  lose 
sight  of  your  interests."  Hartz  also  came  and  said  apologetically 
that  it  was  impossible  to  set  me  free  sooner,  and  he  added :  ''It  was 
all  for  the  best,  because  together  with  you  the  Mission,  the  Consulate, 
To  my  question,  as  to  how  I  could  get  along  without  money, 
and  the  Embassy  would  have  been  betrayed.  Good  sport — you  knew 
how  to  keep  your  promise." 


Metropolitan  Ewdokim  Meszersky,  a  IStrivur 
for  a  Clean  Eussian  Church. 

When  I  told  Bishop  Alexander  that  I  wished  to  see  Archbishop 
Platon,  he  was  rather  frightened  and  asked,  looking  straight  at  me: 
"Don't  you  know  that  Archbishop  Platon  and  Archpresbyter  Slunin 
left  for  Russia?" 


—  54 


IBishop  Alexander  put  a  few  dollars  into  my  hand,  adding  that  Arch- 
bishop Eudocimus,  who  was  sent  by  the  Holy  Synod  to  take  Platon's 
place  was  expected  in  a  few  days,  and  that  I  would  get  my  money  in 
full.  I  was  puzzled  and  asked  what  Bishop  Eudocimus  had  to  do 
with  my  money.  Alexander  explained:  "It  makes  no  difference, 
because  your  money  is  on  deposit  in  the  Mission  Bank,  and  you  have 
nothing  to  fear." 

After  waiting  and  suffering  great  privations  for  eight  months, 
and  still  no  trace  of  the  new  Bishop  Eudocimus,  I  again  applied  to 
Bishop  Alexander.  I  complained  that  it  seemed  an  age  before  Bishop 
Eudocimus  would  appear.  "Well,  then,"  he  retorted,  "if  you  can't 
wait,  go  to  Russia." 


A  Company  of  Eobbers. 

I  was  frantic  because  I  was  left  penniless.  I  needed  some  money. 
I  finally  made  up  my  mind  to  wait  a  short  time  and  then  go  to  Rus- 
sia. I  made  known  my  resolve  to  Dobroff,  who  advised  me  to  wait 
for  the  new  Archbishop^:  ".)Ve  are  at  War  with  Germany  and  Austria 
now.  It  is  not  money  you  must  think  about  but  the  salvation  of  your 
Fatherland.  Your  money  won't  be  lost.  If  you  can't  get  it  now, 
you  will  get  twice  the  amount  after  the  war  is  over."  But  in  the 
meantime,  how  was  I  to  live  without  money? 

I  have  my  first  citizenship  papers  and  was  unwilling  to  have 
them  become  ineffective.  I  therefore  sought  advice  from  Yuri  Bakh- 
metyev,  the  Russian  Ambassador  at  Washington.     He,  in  turn,  con- 


—  55  — 


suited  the  American  authorities.  He  informed  me  that  my  declara- 
tion of  intention  would  remain  valid  if  I  returned  within  six  months. 
My  petition  for  an  American  passport,  on  the  strength  of  my  first 
papers,  was  not  granted.  I  then  took  the  certificate  issued  to  me  by 
the  Russian  Ambassador,  and  bought  passage  on  the  Lusitania, 
through  Johnson's  Steamship  Agency.  I  fortunately  missed  the 
Lusitania.  I  say  "fortunately"  because,  as  is  well  known,  the  Lusi- 
tania was  sunk  on  May  8,  1915.  Eleven  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
of  her  passengers  went  down.  I  sailed  on  th  next  boat,  Frederick 
the  Eighth,   of  ihe   Scandinavian   Line. 


A  Company  of  False  Collectors. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Plat  on  Repays  Me  With  "Interest" 

On  my  return  to  Petroo:rad,  I  found  out  in  the  office  of  the 
Holy  Synod  that  Platen  Rozhdesvensky  was  appointed  Archbishop 
in  Kishinev.     At  the  su^rcrestion  of  a  Synod  official,  I  sent  a  petition 


56  — 


to  Archbishop  Platon  of  Kishiirev,  in  which  I  asked  for  money. 
No  reply  came.  I  wrote  several  times  with  the  same  result.  I 
came  to  Russia  on  May  15,  1915,  and  after  having  petitioned 
Platon  in  vain  about  the  refund  of  my  money  which  he  had  taken 
for  safekeeping  in  the  American  Mission  Bank,  I  returned  to  my 
native  town,  and  sent  Platon  my  home  address.  Soon  after  I  came 
to  my  relatives  in  the  town  of  Cherikov,  in  the  Government  of 
Moghilov.     Four  Gendarmes  came  to  my  house  and  made  a  most 


Gregory  Kunrsliewsky,  "Czar's  Spy" 
for   riiited   State?. 

thorough  search  from  within  and  without,  but  found  nothing 
compromising.  Yet,  their  colorel  declared  that  I  was  to  be  placed 
under  arrest.  1  replied  that  I  had  not  come  to  Russia  to  be  ar- 
rested, and  added  that  I  had  declared  my  intention  to  become  an 
American  citizen  and,  taking  out  my  first  papers,  I  showed  them 
to   the   infuriated    Colonel.      He   glanced    at    the   papers    and   in   his 


—  57 


rage  tore  it  to  pieces,   shouting:    "I   don't  give  a   damn    for  your 
American  citizenship,  while  you  are  a  Russian  subject  we  have  the 
right  to   treat  you   in   accordance   with   our   Russian   law."      Seeing 
an  infuriated  crowd  of  Gendarmes  about  me  who  in  their  rage  were 
wielding  their  swords  and  revolvers,  shouting  that  I  was  a  spy  sent 
to  destroy  the  Monarchy,  I  told  them  that  I  had  come  on  account 
of  very  important  personal  matters,  which  pertained  to  the  Holy 
Synod.    To  this  the  colonel  of  the  Gendarmes  replied:   **We  know 
why  you  came  back."  and  he  enjoined  me  not  to  divulge  any  of  their 
inhuman  behaviour.    Thus,  although  I  was  wholly  innocent,  I  was 
arrested  and  incarcerated  in  the  Fortress  of  Peter  and  Paul,  in  the 
underground  cell  No.  16,  w^Here  I  stayed  from  Tune  29  to  August  l6. 
During  this  period  I  was  frequently  called  for  examination.    I  was 
shown  photographs   of   Russians   who   had   been    in   America.      The 
photographs    were    inscribed    with    comments    about    the    individual 
concerned.      If    one   had    returned    to    Russia,    his    photograph    was 
marked  ''returned";  if  he  was  under  arrest,  his  photo  was  marked 
"returned — taken,"   exactly   as   mine,   which   I  was   shown   at  the 
examination.     I  also  noticed  confidential  reports  by  Gregory  Kuna- 
shexsky  who  runs  a  steamship  office  in  New  York,  and  also  by 
Victor  Hartz.     Information  against  me  as  well  as  against  others 
who  had  been  in  America  was  signed  by  these  two  men,  who  ap- 
parently were  informers,  employed  by  the  Russian  General  Con- 
sulate in  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
/  Meet  The  Czar 


On  August  16,  1915,  I  was  commandeered  to  the  Reserve 
Officers'  Corps  in  Moscow^  and  attached  to  the  Second  Grenadiers' 
Regiment  of  His  Imperial  Highness,  Grand  Duke  Michael  Alexan- 
droAvitch.  I  was  appointed  Captain  of  the  Sixth  Company.  A  week 
later  I  w^as  sent  to  the  Nortwest  Front.  After  three  months  I  was 
wounded  and  taken  to  the  hospital  in  Wilno.  While  there  I  wrote 
twice  to  Platon  in  Kishiniev,  requesting  him  to  return  my  money. 
I   received  no  answer.     After  having   recuperated   from  my  wound, 

—  58  — 


I  was  again  sent  to  tiic  iront.  After  a  short  period  I  was  ordered 
by  the  Corps  Commander  to  go  to  General  Headquarters  in  the  city 
of  Moghilev,  under  the  command  of  General  Alexyev.  On  May  17, 
1916,  I  was  appointed  Adjutant  at  the  High  Commander  in  Chiefs 
quarters,  where  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  audience  with  His  Im- 
perial Majesty,  Emperor  Nicholas  Alexandrowitch,  to  whom  I 
presented  my  complaint  against  Platon,  recently  appointed  Exarch 
of  Georgia,  in  the  Caucasus.    The  Emperor  said  to  me' 


Micholas  II — Last   Czar  of  liussia. 

"I'm  sorry,  I  can't  see  him  immediately.  According  to  rumors 
that  have  been  reaching  me  since  1905  he  is  a  very  degraded  person, 
indeed.  Yes,"  he  added:  "All  this  is  true,  and  Peter  Arkadyevitch 
(Stolypin)  was  right.  The  edifice  is  large,  its  pillars  are  strong, 
but  it  will  not  stand  the  strain  and  must  collapse.  Evidently, 
German  espionage  is  in  full  swing.*'     There  were  present  at  this 


—  59 


conversation,  which  lasted  a  Avhole  hour,  Constantine,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Moghilev,  and  the  Generals,  Alexeyev,  Scherbachev  and 
Nicholas  Nicholayevitch  Duchonin.  When  I  was  about  to  take 
my  leave,  His  Majesty  addressed  these  parting  words  to  me: 

"Do  not  worry,  my  son.     .     .     .     Everything  will  be  done  to 


cleanse  the  Orthodox  Russian  Church  from  its  foulness."  I  thanked 
the  Emperor  and  departed.  Two  days  later,  I  was  again  summoned 
to  the   Czar,   quite   unexpectedly,   by   General   Duchonin.     During 


—  60 


this  second  brief  audience  of  mine  with  the  Emperor,  General 
Duchonin  said  to  me :  "Try  to  see  Platon  personally,  don't  pay 
much  atttention  to  the  money  question,  but  instead  try  to  sound 
him  on  his  political  views."  I  was  given  leave  of  absence  and 
went  to  Platon,  the  Exarch  of  Georgia,  in  the  City  of  Tiflis,  and 
carried  out  this  secret  mission  in  detail. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
Platon  Causes  Husband's  Death  and  Seduces  Widow 

On  my  arrival  in  Tiflis  I  looked  up  Father  Slunin,  and  asked 
him  to  announce  me  to  the  Exarch  Platon.  Slunin  answered  that 
the  Bishop  could  not  receive  me  before  the  next  day.  On  the  way 
to  my  rooms,  I  imparted  to  Father  Slunin  my  reason  for  coming 
to  Tiflis.  He  tried  to  reassure  me,  stating  that  the  Master  was 
ready  to  return  my  money  before  he  left  Kishiniev.  I  gave  Slunin 
my  petition  to  Platon,  in  which  I  asked  for  the  return  of  my  money. 
I  mentioned  Slunin  as  a  witness.  However,  as  soon  as  Slunin  saw 
his  name,  he  asked  that  it  be  omitted,  because,  as  he  explained,  at 
clergyman  had  no  right  to  testify  against  his  Chief.  The  next  day 
I  called  for  Father  Slunin  and  together  we  went  to  Exarch  Platon's 
residence.  Slunin  left  m-e  there  in  the  company  of  an  old  monk, 
whom  he  told  to  announce  me  to  Platon.  While  the  monk  was 
interrogating  me.  Mother  Angelina,  the  well-built  Mother  Superior 
of  the  Staro-Cherkask  Convent,  appeared  on  the  scene. 

Here  I  must  digress  to  tell  her  life  story,  which  I  had  learned 
as  Inspector-General  with  the  Secret  Service  of  the  Holy  Synod. 
Her  husband,  acctised  of  a  political  offence,  was  confined  in  the 
Viborg  Prison  in  Petrograd.  Platon,  who  was  then  prison  chaplain, 
fell  head-over-ears  in  love  Vx^ith  the  prisoner's  wife,  who  had  not 
yet  taken  the  veil.  He  then  began  to  send  letters  with  incriminat- 
ing information  against  her  husband,  with  the  intention  of  causing 
his  execution.  He  finally  succeeded  in  his  attempt.  After  the 
husband  was   executed,  Platon  seduced  the  widow,   promising  to 

—  61  — 


marry  her  and  to  unfrock  himself.  All  this  was  a  falsehood,  be- 
cause he  was  married  at  the  time.  When  his  wife  died,  he  failed 
to  keep  his  promise  to  marry  the  widow  of  the  man  whose  death 
he  had  caused. 

She  then  entered  the  Vvedensky  Convent  in  Moscow  and  as- 
sumed the  name  of  Angelina.  A  few  years  later  she  was  transferred 


■'«%- 


,-r 


^v*-:^,    ^:i,^-.. 


-^  .  \u 


^i1t^?4; 


'^^-Jil»Si??4 


Monk  Ilyodor,  an  Imposter  and  Bandit,  who  posed 
as  Patriarch  of  All  Kussia. 

to  the  Novodyevichi  Convent  in  Kiev  and  from  there  to  the  Don 
Territory,  where  she  was  appointed  Mother  Superior  of  the  Staro- 
Cherkask  Convent.     In  spite  of  her  position,  Platon  continued  to 


—  62 


annoy  her,  and  kept  in  touch  with  her  through  letters.  M-eanwhile 
he  persecuted  the  Ostrovsky  family,  who  were  related  to  Captain 
Shuvalov,  Angelina's  executed  husband,  and  who  lived  on  Mary- 
insky-Blagoveshchensky  Street  in  Kiev.  He  finally  had  hired  as- 
sasins  to  kill  the  whole  family  of  five.  Only  and  old  nurse  remained 
alive.  She  claimed  that  among  the  assassins  were  Valeryan  Graves, 
Alexander  Nemelovsky  of  Volhynia  and  Ilyodor,  the  notorious 
"Mad  Monk,"  who  subsequently  broke  away  from  the  Orthodox 
Church. 


Mendel  Beiliss 

After  all  these  events,  Platon  obtained  the  necessary  docu- 
ments from  the  Holy  Synod  and  left  for  America,  unbeknown  to  the 
Czar,  who  was  the  nominal  head  of  the  Russian  Church.  From 
America,  for  reasons  best  known  to  himself,  he  sent  his  agents  to 
Russia,  tothe  well-known  millionaire  Buturlin,  who  was  also  related 
to  the  late  Captain  Shuvalov,  and  whom  Platon  was  'evidently  an- 
xious to  remove  from  this  world.  Among  these  agents  was  Daniel 
Gilevitch,  whom  I  have  mentioned  before  this,  and  whom  Platon 


—  63 


later  on  "ordained"  as  a  priest.  Gilevitch,  together  with  Dr.  Pan- 
chenko,  who  was  treating  Buturlin  for  impotence,  was  instrumental 
in  murdering  the  millionaire.  The  physician  prescribed  an  over- 
dose of  some  poison,  and  the  old  man  died.  Gilevitch  escaped  to 
America,  while  Panchenko  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  hard  labor 
in  Siberia.  The  case  was  known  as  the  Affair  of  De-La-Cey  and 
Buturlin.  The  events  described  took  place  in  the  city  of  Wilno,  in 
1910  and  1911. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Platon  Instigates  the  Beiliss  Blood  Accusation 

The  murder  just  described  was  not  the  final  chapter  in  Platon' s 
"exploits."  He  planned  another  crime,  and  if  he  had  been  success- 
ful, he  would  have  stigmatized  the  entire  Jewish  people.  He  got  in 
touch  with  the  notorious  hangman  Silberman,  whose  specialty  it 
was  to  put  to  death  political  offenders,  many  of  whom  were  entirely 
innocent  of  any  wrong  doing.  With  the  help  of  Silberman,  Platon 
birbed  Vera  Cheberiak.  This  Vera  Cheberiak,  a  woman  of  the 
Kiev  underworld,  first  killed  her  own  children  in  order  to  avoid 
suspicion.  A  few  days  later  the  same  fate  befell  the  young  boy 
Audrey  Yushchinsky  who  was  lured  to  one  of  the  sheds  of  Zaitzev's 
brick  factory  and  murdered.  It  was  Vera  Cheberiak  who  killed 
him.  After  the  murder.  Vera  Cheberiak,  together  with  Silberman, 
who  was  present  at  the  murder  of  Yushchinsky,  lay  in  ambush  for 
Mendel  Beiliss,  foreman  of  the  factory,  who,  they  knew,  had  to 
pass  the  shed  on  his  way  to  work.  He  passed  that  memorable 
morning  as  usual  and  came  across  Yushchinsky's  dead  body.  Very 
much  frightened,  he  was  about  to  run  away,  but  the  detectives, 
who  lay  in  wait  for  him,  egged  on  by  the  accusations  of  Vera  Che- 
beriak and  Silberman,  took  him  into  custody.  The  Beiliss  affair, 
it  will  be  remembreed,  caused  a  world-wide  sensation.  Prosecutors 
and  defenders  flocked  from  all  ends  of  the  world.  My  father,  in 
spite  of  the  warnings  on  the  part  of  a  few  very  important  statesmen, 
asked  Feodor  Plevako,  the  well-known  barrister,  to  take  upon  him- 

—  64  — 


self  the  defense  of  the  innocently  accused  Beiliss.  Plevako  together 
with  Karabchevsky  and  other  eminent  members  of  the  Russian 
legal  profession,  undertook  the  case.  Beiliss  was  acquitted,  and 
Silberman  committed  suicide  on  the  spot.  Vera  Cheberiak  was  sen- 
tenced to  hard  labor  and  on  the  way  to  Siberia  also  committed 
suicide. 

It  was  only  on  the  fourth  day  I  succeeded  in  seeing  Platon 
and  that  too,  owdng  to  the  solicitation  of  Mr,  Popov,  Procurator  of 
the  Tiflis  Synod  office.  To  my  request  to  refund  my  money,  Platon 
replied:  "I'll  let  you  know  in  a  week.  I'll  probably  pay  you  in 
dollars,  but  first  I  must  make  inquiries."  This  was  the  only  time 
I  saw  him  in  Tiflis. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

His  Eminence  Leads  Me  a  Chase 

Finally,  about  six  weeks  later,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  go  to 
Petrograd  where,  as  I  learned,  Platon  had  proceded  me.  There,  I 
was  received  by  Platon  in  the  Kiev  Hostelry.  He  pleaded  fatigue, 
and  asked  me  to  call  tbe  next  day.  As  I  was  leaving,  I  met  An- 
gelina at  the  door.  She  must  have  come  to  Petrograd  together 
w^ith  Platon.  The  next  day,  I  called  on  Platon  at  the  Hostelry. 
This  was  in  June,  1917.  He  received  me  and  gave  me  for  the  time 
being  5,600  rubles  in  500-ruble  notes,  for  w^hich  I  gave  him  a  receipt. 
He  promised,  after  having  made  inqiries,  to  pay  me  in  dollars  be- 
cause the  rate  of  Russian  paper  money  was  so  low  that  one  could 
purchase  nothing  for  it.  I  demanded  to  be  paid  in  gold,  and  Bishop 
Platon  asked  me  to  wait.  I  waited,  but  by  the  time  I  called  at  the 
Kiev  Hostelry,  I  learned  that  Platon  had  left  for  Moscow.  I  went 
to  Moscow  and  at  the  Church  Conclave  submitted  a  petition  to  the 
Holy  Patriarch.  He  stated  that  the  matter  was  personal  and  not 
under  his  jurisdiction,  but  that  he  w^ould  nevertheless  try  to  help 
me  meet  Platon  in  order  to  settle  tbe  affair  amicably.  He  gave  me 
Platon's  address,  and  I  located  him. 

—  65  — 


Platon  ordered  his  servant  to  have  me  arrested,  but  the  lattef 
knowing  of  my  claim  against  his  Master,  refused  to  do  so.  I,  as 
an  honest  and  law-abiding  citizen,  who  was  seeking  the  return  of 
his  own  money,  did  not  fear  arrest  and  continued  to  fight.     Bishop 


-^m^it^^i  *i..j«." 


i^,   ^a^^^^t-  %&. 


s 

ft 

QQ 


Platon  has  promised  me  a  number  of  times,  in  the  presence  of  wit- 
nesses, to  refund  my  $7,800.00  in  full,  at  6%  interest,  in  American 
dollars,     lie  had  merely  returned  5,600  rubles,  which  at  the  rate 


—  66 


of  42  rubles  to  the  dollar,  amounted  to  very  little.  Into  the  bargain 
he  avoided  meeting  me  and  threatened  me  with  arrest.  I  determ- 
ined to  settle  the  affair  and  I  asked  Metropolitan  Benjamin  of 
Petrograd  to  come  with  me  to  the  Swiato-Chudlovsky  Monastery. 
After  a  long  search,  we  found  Platon  hiding  inthe  catacombs  of  the 
monastery,  in  the  very  room  in  which  Patriarch  Hermoneges  had 
been  stoned.  I  was  a  captain  in  the  Army,  and  as  such  was  fully 
armed,  but  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  resort  to  arms.     I  grabbed 


The  Most   Holy  Patriarch  Tickhon. 


Platon  by  the  collar,  and  pulled  him  out  of  hiding.  Metropolitan 
Benjamin,  fearing  a  brawl,  implored  me  to  release  Platon,  who 
was  screaming  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  Fifteen  of  the  monks  heard 
his  cries,  ran  in  and  wanted  to  arrest  me,  but  when  I  showed  them 
my  credentials,  and  they  saw  that  it  v/as  I  who  had  the  power  to 


—  67  — 


arrest  them,  they  quieted  down.  Platon  then  told  me  in  every- 
body's presence  that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  pro- 
cure the  money  in  dollars,  but  that  he  was  expecting  the  arrival 
of  a  certain  person,  who  was  bringing  him  dollars,  and  that  as  soon 
as  he  received  them,  be  would  repay  me  all  he  owed  plus  the  in- 
terest. I  took  his  word  and  released  him,  particularly  because  his 
promise  was  given  not  only  to  me  personally,  but  also  to  Metro- 
politan Benjamin. 

A  few  days  later  my  wife  and  I  called  on  the  Patriarch.  Platon 
was  also  there  and  told  me  in  the  Patriarch's  presence  that  he 
would  give  me  the  money  not  later  than  the  next  day,  and  asked 
me  to  call  for  it  "to-morrow."  The  Patriarch  was  very  well  satis- 
fied that  the  matter  was  about  to  be  settled  peaceably,  but  when  1 
told  him  that  I  had  heard  this  "to-morrow"  a  number  of  times  be- 
fore, Platon  replied  that  be  had  sworn  in  the  Holy  Patriarch's  pres- 
ence. I  reminded  him  that  in  September,  1917,  I  had  asked  him  for 
my  money  in  the  presence  of  Metropolitan  Benjamin,  Archbishops 
Constantine,  Mitrophan  and  many  others,  he  had  also  sworn  to 
return  it  but  never  did.  To  this  he  replied :  "Come  to-morrow  and 
you  will  get  all  that's  owed  you." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Platon  Incites  Pogroms 

And,  indeed,  just  as  on  the  former  occasion,  so  now,  too,  when 
]  called  on  Platon  the  next  day,  I  learned  that  he  had  disappeared. 
.  .  .  He  was  no  longer  in  Moscow.  Upon  inquiry,  I  found  out  that 
he  had  left  for  Kiev.  Although  as  captain  of  the  Russian  Army  I 
had  to  hurry  to  rejoin  my  regiment,  I  determined  instead  to  go  to 
Kiev.  On  January  4,  1918,  when  H.  Skoropadsky  was  the  ruler  of 
Kiev,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses — I.  M.  Volia,  Justice  of  the  Peace 
of  the  24th  ward  of  Kiev;  Attorney  D.  I.  Lubansky,  and  N.  I. 
Luzgin,  Secretary  of  the  Kiev  Consistory,  who,  as  it  turned  out 
later,  were  all  his  friends,  Platon  at  last  declared  his  willingness  to 

—  68  — 


repay  me  all  the  money  be  owed  me.  While  the  necessary  papers 
were  being  drafted,  Platon  handed  me  6,000  rubles  of  the  Provi- 
sional Goxernment  series,  which  hardly  amounted  to  five  Am-erican 
dollers,  and  asked  me  to  wait  for  the  papers.  When  the  papers 
were  ready,  I  was  sumoned  to  the  Justice  of  the  Peace,  I.  M.  Volia; 
D.  I.  Lubansky  and  N.  I.  Luzgin  were  also  present.  The  justice 
asked  me  to  sign  the  paper.    I  signed  it,  but  received  neither  money 


An  Example  of  Platon's  Attacks.     Scene  One. 

nor  a  copy  of  the  paper  I  had  signed.     Platon  took  all  the  papers 
with  him  and  told  me  to  come  for  the  money  a  week  later. 

From  January  18  and  for  two  weeks  following,  Kiev  was  under 
continuous  bombardment.  In  February  the  Bolsheviki  came.  Dur- 
ing the  bombardment  I  could  not  locate  Platon  anywhere.     No  one 


69 


knew  whether  he  was  in  hiding  or  left  the  town.  Finally,  in  April, 
Hetman  Skoropadsky  captured  the  city  with  the  aid  of  German 
troops.  Friends  told  me  they  had  seen  Platon  entering  the  city 
together  with  the  troops.  Indeed,  a  few  days  later,  I  saw  Platon 
at  the  Sofia  Place.  Large  crowds  were  assembled  tbere.  German 
soldiers,  fully  armed,  were  everywhere ;  on  the  roofs  were  machine 
o-uns.    Apparently  everything  was  in  readiness  to  fire  at  the  people 


Scene  Two, 


at  the  vcrv  first  signal. 


With  diftlculty  I  made  my  way  through 
the  crowd,  and  saw  Metropolitan  Platon  in  full  regalia,  with  a 
cross  in  his  hands,  surrounded  by  priests  and  German  soldiers.  ^  It 
Avas  iust  after  tbe  thanksgiving  mass  for  the  liberation  of  Kiev 
from  the  Bolsheviki.    Platon  was  preaching  to  the  people,  but  good 


—  70  — 


Sc(  ne  Three. 


Scene  Fciu 

—  71  - 


Lord,  what  an  inciting  and  repulsive  sermon!  The  Metropolitan 
mispronounced  the  Ukrainian  words.  He  cursed  and  anathemized 
the  great  Russians  and  those  Ukrainians  who  were  not  in  accord 
with  him.  He  shouted  that  many  Ukrainians,  following  the  ex- 
ample of  the  "Katzaps"  (Russians),  fraternized  with  the  Jews, 
diso|beyed  the  Church  authorities,  and  listened  to  the  Rabbis  in- 
steaid  ;  that  they  were  breaking  away  from  the  power  of  the  clergy 
and,'  consequently,  from  God  Himself;  that  many  of  them  had  been 
circumcizcd  by  the  rabbis,  fcroken  God's  Commandments,  and  were 
robbincc  and  killini^:  the  innocent  landed  proprietors,  who,  as  edu~ 


i#C '  I'm 

• 

-  ^     '  ^ 

kt 

I 

llaa^: 

Scene  Five. 

cated  men,  were  the  flower  of  Russia  and  the  Ukraine;  that,  finally, 
they  had  dared  raise  their  voices  against  Hetman  Skoropadsky  him- 
self, who  had  been  chosen  by  God  and  the  saints  of  the  Pechersk 
Monastery  and  who  was  the  Savior  of  the  Ukraine  and  the  Or- 
thodox Faith ;  that  they  dared  resist  the  German  soldiers  whom 
God  Himself  sent  to  aid  Skoropadsky  and  who  though  yesterday's 
enemies,  forgot  their  animosity  and  came  to  bring  about  peace  and 
order  from  chaos ;  and  yet  the  people  were  unwilling  to  share  with 


72  — 


these  friends  God's  gifts  now,  althoui^h  they  could  not  take  them 
with  them  into  the  world  to  come.  He  cried,  entreated,  wept,  im- 
plored net  to  spare  the  tempers,  but  to  kill  them  just  as  good 
Christians  kill  the  de\ils  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  "Whether  it 
be  your  father,  brother,  or  friend,  don't  spare  them,  since  they 
themselves  flagrantly  burn,  trample,  desecrate  their  own  mother, 
the  Church  !" 


Scene   six.  ^  /^, 

This  speech,  full  of  venom  and  hatred,  lasted  for  a  goodly  two 
hours.  Without  being  cognizant  of  it,  I  was  forced  so  far  forward 
that  Platon  noticed  me.  His  face  became  distorted  with  hatred, 
and  he  looked  at  me  as  if  he  were  ready  to  make  a  dash  for  me  an(? 
break  my  head  w4th  the  large  cross  he  had  in  his  hand. 


73  — 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  HeUnans  Gendarmes  Assassinate  My  Two  Children 

When  I  spoke  of  Platon's  malicious  glance,  at  home,  my  wife's 
relatives,  who  were  native  Kievites,  v/arned  me:    "Be  careful,  John, 


•f 


'^^"^ -I 

s 

9      --■ 

^i 

m--^'^^ 

IIbl 

1 .,        *i^s^^ 

^ 

-  ""Siiik^^^&M^i.  ^ 

•^^ 

^ 

l^^^l^lfH^^^H&>  "   V"!^' 

-^^^-  :r^*^  . 

^1 


02 


Metropolitan  Platon  is  now  Skoropadsky's  right  hand  and  he  can 
«do  whatever  he  pleases."    The  rumor  was  current  all  over  Kiev  to 


the  effect  that  Skoropadsky  would  soon  convene  a  Church  Assem- 
bly of  the  Ukraine  whose  function  it  would  be  to  confirm  the  ap- 
pointment of  Metropolitan  Platon  as  the  Independent  Ukrainian 
Patriarch.  It  is  also  rumored  that  all  of  the  Ukraine,  that  is  the 
part  which  had  formerly  been  Russia  and  Galicia,  is  now  unitc^. 
This  meant  that  Platon  would  be  Patriarch  of  (ireat  and  Little 
Ukraine,  as  distinf^uished  from  Patriarch  Hklion  of  all  the  Russias. 


Metropolitan  Vladimir  ilelivered  to  his  assassins  by  Platon  and 
Vladimir's  servant. 

When  I  remarked  that  the  Russian  Patriarch  would  not  permit 
this,  I  Avas  laughed  at  and  told  that  I  did  not  know  how  matters 
stood.  Why,  Platon  was  among  those  who  went  to  Germany  to 
ask  that  German  troops  be  sent  here.  In  case  Tikhon  makes  a. 
fuss  Platon  will  join  the  entire  Ukrainian  Church  to  Rome,  and  will 


remain  Patriarch  just  thes  same.  .  .  .  Had  I  not  heard  that  very 
day  Platon's  sermon  after  the  thanksgiving  mass,  I  would  have 
said,  perhaps,  that  all  this  was  the  product  of  my  relatives'  imag- 
ination, but  Platon's  speech  made  such  an  indelibl-e  impression  on 
my  mind,  that,  as  a  Russian  of  the  Orthodox  Faith,  I  could  not 
possibly  forget  it. 

My   relatives'   misgivings   soon   materialized.      I   began   to   be 
followed  and,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  changed  my  quarters  prac- 


Metropolitan  Platon,  after   stealing  $J>U,UUU  from   a  inunastery  in  Odessa. 

tically  every  other  day,  I  was  trailed,  and  one  night  the  Hetman's 
Gendarmes  broke  into  my  house  ...  I  hardly  had  time  to  put  my 
wife  out  of  the  window.  This  almost  cost  her  her  life,  because  she 
fell  from  th  second  story  and  soon  afterwards  gave  birth  to  a  still 
child  .  .  .  and  then  .  .  .  then  .  .  .  my  heart  throbs  with  such  pain 
that  I  cannot  think  of  what  happened  without  weeping  bitterly. 


7e  — 


without  clenching  my  fists,  without  gnashing  my  teeth.  .  .  .  My 
lips,  in  spite  of  all  my  efforts  for  control,  whisper  curses  to  the  as- 
sassins .  .  .  before  my  eyes  my  two  babies  were  slashed  to  death 
with  swords — two  infants,  who  as  our  Saviour  said,  are  alone 
worthy  of  beholding  the  image  of  our  Heavenly  Father.  ...  A 
number  of  people  rushed  into  the  room  as  if  by  miracle,  and  I  was 
rescued  from  the  Gendarmes  and  succeeded  in  making  my  escape 
and  hiding  myself.  Late  at  night,  I  climbed  in  through  the  window, 
took  my  children's  bodies  to  the  basement,  put  them  both  into  one 
coffin,  brought  by  my  relatives,  and  buried  them.  .  .  .  But  I  had 
been  watched  even  more  vigilantly  than  before.  The  very  next 
night,  my  apartm.ent  was  broken  into,  I  was  arrested  and  taken  to 
jail.  This  was  in  May,  and  in  September  I  was  assisted  to  escape. 
In  October,  1918,  Kiev  changed  hands  once  more — this  time  the 
city  was  again  captured  by  the  Soviet  Armies. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

/  Land  at  the  "Che-Ka"   {Extraordinary  Commission) 

Since  I  was  no  longer  with  the  active  army,  I  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  factory,  which  had  formerly  belonged  to  my  uncle, 
M.  A.  Dudikoff,  in  the  district  of  Lipovetz,  Government  of  Kiev. 
A  couple  of  weeks  later,  in  the  same  month  of  October,  Kiev  was 
recaptured  by  Petrula  and  the  Poles.  Governments  came  and  went 
at  the  rate  of  almost  three  a  day.  I  worked  at  the  factory  all  the 
time,  most  conscientiously.  In  Janray,  1919,  I  was  taken  ill  with 
spotted  typhus  and  spent  six  weeks  in  the  hospial.  One  day, 
Platon's  friend  Lubinsky  and  Siemashkevich  came  to  the  hospital. 
They  passed  my  cot,  transfived  me  with  their  glance,  but  did  not 
stop,  apparently  in  order  not  to  give  themselves  away.  At  about 
two  or  three  steps  from  my  cot.  Lubinsky  said  to  Siemashkevich: 
"That's  he.*'  Both  of  them  had  also  found  positions  with  "Sov- 
narchoz"  (Council  of  People's  Economy).  I  understood  that  Platon's 
men  were  following  me. 

—  77  — 


On  February  6,  1919,  the  Soviet  Armies  once  more  cleaned  KieV 
of  the  Poles  and  Petlm-a's  Bands.  I  was  still  a  patient  at  the  hospital 
when  a  Soviet  Committee  came  there.  Colonel  Muravyov  approached 
'me,  introduced  himself,  and  asked  whether  I  was  DudikoiT.  He  also 
inquired  of  the  nurse  whether  I  could  sit  up.  She  replied,  '*No/* 
Then  turning  to  me,  the  Colonel  asked:  "Were  you  arrested  and  if 
so,  why?"  I  replied  that  I  had  been  arrested  and  had  reason  tb  bd- 
lieve  because  of  an  order  and  false  information  furnished  by  a  certain 
person.  "Yes,  we  know,"  said  Muravyov.  "And  who  is  this  person, 
isn't  it  Platon  Rozhdestvensky  ?"  I  confirmed  this,  and  Colonel  Mu- 
ravyov reassured  me  and  told  me  that  most  of  the  documents  in  my 
case  against  Platon  were  with  the  General  Staff.  "Well,  don't  worry, 
Dudikoff,"  he  said,  "we  will  find  the  Metropolitan  for  you." 

Soon  afterwards  I  was  discharged  from  the  hospital  and  weni 
back,  to  my  post.  I  was  warned  that  I  had  a  number  of  enemies 
among  Platon's  followers,  and  that  they  were  circulating  false  rumors 
and  doing  all  in  their  power  to  harm  me.  I  knew  Vv/ho  those  enemies 
were.  They  were  the  very  same  psrsons  who  had,  togther  with  Platon, 
obtained  my  signature  and  sent  assansins  to  kill  my  children ;  the  same 
persons,  on  whose  false  evidence  I  was  arrested ;  the  same  persons, 
two  of  whom  had  come  to  see  me  at  the  hospital. 

When  I  returned  to  the  factory,  I  found  that  there  was  no  money 
in  the  cash-box,  and  there  were  no  funds  from  which  to  pay  the 
workmen.  I  telephoned  to  the  "Sovnarchoz"  and  they  told  me  to  call 
for  the  money,  also  that  they  had  set  apart  18,000,000  rubles  for  my 
pay  roll.  I  went  for  the  money  by  myself,  without  guards  and  took 
along  my  own  3,500,000  rubles.  I  arrived  at  Kiev  in  a  phaeton,  which 
was  stopped  by  two  bandit^ — one  wore  a  mask,  the  other  was  so 
rouged  and  powdered,  that  his  make-up  looked  like  a  mask.  They 
levelled  their  revolvers  at  me,  and  took  my  money  and  my  gun.  As 
thev  were  making  their  getaway,  I  began  to  shout.  Four  soldiers 
came  running  to  my  aid  and  fired  at  the  robbers.  One  of  them  was 
killed  on  the  spot,  the  other  escaped.  The  soldiers  found  m.y  money 
on  the  man  they  had  killed,  took  it  off  his  body,  and  led  me  to  the 
Lukianov  Precinct  Police  Station.  T- was  released  the  next  day  by 
the  manager  of  the  "Sovnarchoz."  My  money  was  returned  to.  me, 
and  the  robbery  entered  on,;  the^station  blotter.  After  this,;  I  secured 
guards,  and  having  received  the  18,000,000  rubles  in  Petlura  notes 
returned   to  the   factory.     The   workmen    refused   to   accept   Petlura 

^  78  -. 


money,  and  sent  me  back  for  imperial  rubles.  I  went  back,  ex- 
changed the  notes,  secured  a  guard,  and  left  for  the  factory.  We 
reached  the  station  safely,  but  no  carriage  had  been  sent  to  meet  us. 
To  walk  with  such  a  sum  of  money,  at  night  into  the  bargain,  would 
have  been  sheer  madness.  Petlura's  bands  were  only  three  versts 
away  on  one  side  and  the  Poles  seven  versts  on  the  other.  My  guard 
suggsted  that  we  spnd  the  night  in  a  nearby  inn,  and  I  acted  upon 
his  advice.  We  ate  some  dry  bread  as  black  as  earth  and  went  to 
sleep,  both  in  the  same  room.  I  put  the  valise  with  the  money  under 
the  bed,  and  no  matter  how  hard  I  tried  to  keep  awake,  I  was  so  tired 
thai  before  long  I  was  fast  asleep. 

When  I  awoke  the  next  morning  I  immediately  took  my  valise 
from  under  the  bed.  It  looked  as  if  it  had  not  been  touched,  but 
when  I  opened  it  I  was  horrified — itisiead  of  notes  th^re  v;as  sand. 
My  guard  was  fast  asleep.  I  awakened  him,  showed  him  the  valise, 
but  he  was  not  perturbed.  He  said:  ''Fine  work."  Following  this 
I  was  arrested,  and  put  into  prison,  but  soldiers  soon  came,  opened 
the  gates,  and  set  all  the  prisoners  free.  About  twenty  minutes  later, 
one  of  those  who  had  originally  arrested  me,  met  me  and  asked:  "Why 
are  you  roaming  here?  Weren't  you  arrested?"  I  told  him  what  had 
happened  and  he  ordered  me  to  follow  him  back  into  prison,  but  be- 
fore I  could  move  he  was  shot  on  the  spot  by  a  soldier  of  one  of 
Petlura's  regiments.  Soon  after  that  Petlura's  troops  were  driven  out, 
I  was  re-arrested  and  taken  to  the  ''Che-Ka"    (Extraordinary  Com- 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

/  Am  Sentenced  to  Death 

My  hair  stands  on  end  when  I  recall  the  tortures  to  which  I  was 
subjected.  A  few  people  familiar  with  the  first  robbery,  and  con- 
vinced that  I  could  not  possibly  have  stolen  the  money,  exerted  every 
energy  to  have  me  released,  but  it  seemed  as  if  a  mysterious  hand 
was  zealously  working  towards  my  destruction  and,  steadily  gaining. 
Strength  and  force,  was  prepairing  to  crush  and  anihilate  me. 
One  morning  I  was  ordered  to  appear  for  an  inquest.  The  examining 

—  79  — 


magistrate,  who  had  held  a  similar  position  under  the  Czar's  Gov- 
ernment, examined  me  so  rigidly  as  to  make  the  inquest  a  series  of 
tortures.  He  summarily  announced :  "We  have  found  your  money/' 
I  replied  that  I  was  overjoyed  at  it.  Then  the  "magistrate,"  pro- 
secutor, ditsrict  attorney,  or  what  you  will,  asked:  "To  whom  did 
you  give  the  money?"  I  carefully  described  what  had  happened,  but 
he  struck  me  a  violent  blow  on  the  face,  clenched  his  fist,  and  shouted : 
"You  lie !  Tell  me  of  your  brother's  whereabouts !"  I  answered  that 
1  had  not  heard  from  my  brother  for  more  than  a  year.  To  this  the 
district  attorney  stated :  "Your  brother  is  with  the  White  Guards,  you 
took  the  pane  out  of  the  window  at  night,  and  handed  him  the  money. 
Your  brother  has  been  arrested.  We  have  found  the  money  on  him 
and  confiscated  it.    You,  on  the  other  hand,  are  sentenced  to  be  shot." 

I  asked  to  be  confronted  with  both  my  guard  and  my  brother 
who,  according  to  the  attorney,  had  been  arrested.  My  request  wa?? 
denied.  Now  it  became  clear  to  me  that  I  was  in  the  hands  of  Platon's 
men  who  conspired  to  ruin  me.  After  sentencing  me  to  be  shot,  for 
some  reason  or  other  they  granted  me  a  respite  of  forty-eight  hours 
for  an  appeal.  I  knew  that  the  workmen  in  the  factory  who  had 
protested  at  the  time  of  my  arrest  to  my  being  taken  to  the  "Che-Ka," 
would  have  objected  to  such  a  sentence.  They  believed  me  to  be 
their  comrade,  honest  and  just,  and  incapable  of  robbing  them  of  their 
money.  They  never  expected  me  to  be  tried  in  this  manner  and  so 
summarily  sentenced  to  death.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  notify 
them  and  so  I  could  not  secure  their  help.  I  was  taken  back  to  prison, 
and  47^  hours  later  they  came  for  me  and  led  me  out  to  be  shot. 
I  was  under  the  convoy  of  two  soldiers,  a  sailor  and  a  Chinaman  from 
Manchuria.  They  brought  me  to  a  garden,  told  me  to  undress  and 
placed  me  facing  the  soldiers,  with  my  back  towards  a  freshly  dug 
trench.  The  Chinaman  ordered  me,  in  broken  Russian,  to  confess  my 
crime,  and  when  I  replied :  "Your  business  is  to  shoot  but  not  to  ex- 
amine," he  ran  to  me  and  dealt  me  with  the  butt  of  his  gun  so  heavy 
a  blow  that  I  fell  to  the  ground  bleeding,  and  barely  escaped  being 
killed.  I  regained  consciousness  in  the  same  cell  from  which  I  had 
been  led  to  the  execution.  I  lay  there,  naked  and  all  covered  with 
blood,  on  the  bare  floor. 

vSoon  they  came  to  me,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  could  not 
move,  they  again  took  me  for  a  hearing.  Another  magistrate  was  sit- 
ting now.     If  the  soldiers  had  not  supported  me  under  the  arms,  1 

—  80  — 


would  have  dropped  to  the  floor.  I  was  asked:  "How  long  ago  were 
you  in  Belaya  Tserkov?"  And  then,  "How  long  ago  were  you  in 
Lipovetz  ?"  I  answered.  The  next  question  was :  "What  speeches 
did  you  hold  at  the  Square  in  Belaya  Tserkov  and  in  the  suburbs  of 
Tipovetz  in  order  to  incite  the  people  to  rebellion?"  When  I  ans- 
wered that  I  do  not  speak  Ukrainian  and  that  not  only  had  I  not 
delivered  any  speeches,  but  I  had  not  attended  any  meetings,  Lubansky 
and  then  Siemashkevitch  testified  in  my  presence  that  I  had  incited 
mobs  against  the  government  and  delivered  an  inflammatory  speech, 
recruiting  men  for  my  own  regiments  with  the  object  of  attacking  the 
Government's  forces  at  night,  defeating  them,  overthrowing  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  becoming  ruler  myself.  This  lie  was  so  apparent,  so 
obvious,  that  even  a  child  would  have  doubted  it.  .  .  .  The  judge, 
however,  believed  it.  The  question  of  robbery  was  no  longer  raised. 
I  was  tried  as  a  counter-revolutionary  and  sentenced,  as  forty-eight 
hours  previously,  to  be  shot. 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 

The  Horrors  and  Atrocities  of  the  Soviet  Inquisition. 

I  was  not  taken  back  to  prison,  but  directly  to  a  barn  under  a 
shed.  Seventy- six  naked  counter-revolutionaries  were  standing  at  the 
wall.  Among  them  were  also  women  who  must  have  already  passed 
through  excruciating  tortures  because  their  breasts  were  either  entire- 
ly torn  out  with  forge-tongs  or  were  so  that,  instead  of  breasts,  their 
flesh  was  hanging  in  fragments.  These  women  were  covered  with 
blood  from  their  breasts  down  to  their  heels.  ...  I  was  ordered  to 
undress.  I  was  in  a  state  of  dumb  stupor.  They  began  to  tear  off 
my  clothes.  Just  then  an  "official"  entered  and  asked:  "Is  Dudikofif 
here?"  They  pointed  me  out  to  him  because  I  could  not  utter  a  word. 
The  official  came  over  to  me  and  said :  "You  were  in  Skoropadsky's 
and  Petlura's  Armies!"  I  shook  my  head.  The  official  continued: 
"Take  this  wretch  back!  He  must  be  re-examined."  While  I  was 
dressing  hurriedly,  the  order  to  fire  from  the  machine  gun  was  given, 
and   all   seventy-six   men   and   women   who   stood   under  numbers    1 

—  81  — 


to  76  marked  on  the  wall  in  chalk,  dropped  to  the  ground.  I  was 
taken  back  to  prison.  At  the  inquest  I  was  accused  of  belonging  to 
the  Opposition,  and  the  false  witnesses,  Lubansky  and  others,  were 
again  referred  to.  I  was  accused  because  it  was  alleged  that  I  was 
serving  both  Skoropadsky  and  Petlura  simultaneously.  Once  more 
the  verdict  was  "to  be  put  to  death." 

Early  one  morning,  they  took  me,  under  strong  convoy,  to  No.  8 
Elizabethinskyah  Street  where  a  great  ciowd  of  people  were  assembled 
in  the  court-yard.  In  the  center  of  the  yard  there  was  a  large  caldron 
full  of  water  ^.-hi^h  was  steaming-ho.  Near  the  kettle  there  were  a 
few  steps  en  which  one  ascended,  and  on  top  a  gang-plank  along  which 
tl'C  poor  sufferers  walked  until  they  were  rapidly  dropped  into  tbe 
boiling  water.  A  short  distance  from  the  caldron  stood  two  hangmen 
with  huge  forks,  with  which  they  pierced  the  bodies  of  the  victinis  and 
dragged  them  out  of  the  water  to  the  ground.  They  then  poured  ben- 
zine ove  r  them  and  set  fire  to  them.  Under  the  shed  they  were  ''at- 
tending" to  the  women  and  young  girls,  whom  they  violated,  and  upon 
whom  they  inflicted  incredibly  beastly  tortures,  such  as  driving  stakes 
into  their  bellies,  throwing  out  the  intestines  and  then  hanging  thern  c-n 
the  barn  wall,  or  nailing  their  hands  and  feet  to  a  tree.  As  I  was 
standing  there,  a  Commissar  came  over  to  me.  He  was  Comrade 
Bezsmertny  whom  T  had  known  from  childhood.  He  told  me  to  plead 
guilty  although  I  was  innocent,  because  this  was  absolutely  necessary 
in  order  to  get  out  of  the  "Che-Ka,"  to  be  transferred  to  No.  16 
Yekaterininskayah  Street.  Here  they  also  subjcted  those  arrested  to 
the  tortures  of  the  Inquisition,  but  of  a  milder  nature.  Had  the  Chn^ 
naman  who  struck  me  with  the  butt  of  his  gun  killed  me,  I  would  have 
gotten  off  easily  in  comparison  to  what  I  was  yet  to  experience. 

I  was  taken  to  the  guillotine.  In  a  suburban  park,  where  the 
trees  had  been  cut  down,  boards  were  nailed  to  both  sides  of  a  stump 
<ind  between  them  a  large  blade  w^as  moving  up  and  down.  To  make 
the  impact  heavier,  a  few  stones  were  fastened  to  the  blade.  The 
executioner  stood  near  the  guillotine,  and  in  front  of  it,  between  an 
inclosure  made  by  two  ropes,  stood  those  sentenced  to  death.  Their 
eyes  shut  or  cast-down,  they  moved  forward  mechanically.  .  .  .  True, 
there  wer  also  a  few  who  turned  their  eyes  heavenward,  where  the  sun 
was  just  about  to  rise.  ...  It  was  early  in  the  morning.  ...  A  few 
of  the  victims,  mostly  women,  crossed  their  arms  on  their  breasts  and 
whispered  prayers.     In  dead  silence,  broken  only  by  the  dull  thud  of 

—  82  — 


the  knife  falling  on  the  condemned's  neck  and,  after  the  head  fell  into 
the  pit,  one  could  hear:  ''Oh,  to  have  it  over  with.  .  .  .  Lord,  for- 
give and  receive  me."  .  .  .  Here,  too,  were  brought  people  who  had 
gone  through  hell  fire.  Not  only  women,  but  men  were  seen  with 
flesh  hacked  and  torn,  hanging  in  shreds. 

Without  a  word,  two  men  came  over  to  me,  tore  off  my  clothes,  and 
put  me  at  the  rear  of  the  line.  In  front  of  me  were  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  people.  This  meant  that  my  turn  would  come 
in  about  forty  minutes,  or  an  hour  at  the  most.  They  "worked"  very 
rapidly.  The  head  w^ould  fall  into  the  pit  of  itself  and  the  corpse  fol- 
lowed it  into  another  pit  nearby.  The  pit  for  the  heads  had  been  dug 
behind  the  stump.  .  .  .  Standing  in  line,  and  also  moving  forwrad 
mechanically,  I  bade  farewell  in  my  thoughts  to  my  wife  and  relatives, 
and  prayed  and  prepared  to  meet  my  murdered  babies.  I  had  come 
quite  near  the  stump  .  .  .  when  looking  behind  me,  I  saw  that  I  was 
no  longer  the  last.  There  were  more  people  behind  me.  Suddenly  I 
heard  an  exclamation :  "Dudikoff  is  here !  Why  were  you  in  such  a 
hurry  to  bring  him?  His  case  has  not  yet  been  disposed  of.  Take 
him  back."  A  shudder  ran  through  my  frame.  I  was  prepared  to 
die.  ...  I  had  made  peace  with  the  thought  that  the  knife,  which 
was  ascending  and  descending,  held  salvation  for  me  from  all  further 
tortures. — The  knife  meant  the  end !  No  longer  would  I  see,  hear,  or 
suffer  agony.     Now,  suddenly,  the  tortures  loomed  up  before  me. — 

I  was  to  go  through  the  ordeal  all  over  again 

Naked  as  I  was,  I  was  taken  out  of  the  line,  to  the  fence.  There 
a  strong,  tall  man  insisted :  "You  stole  the  money  and  handed  it  over 
to  your  brother."  "No,"  I  replied,  "I  did  not."  "You  are  a  counter- 
revolutionary." "No,"  I  replied  again.  "You  are  a  spy  of  Skoro- 
padsky  and  Petlura."  "No."  With  a  strong  hand  he  took  hold  of  me 
and  clutched  my  back  with  tongs.  I  felt  a  horrible  pain,  something 
burning  into  me,  and  fell  senseless.  When  I  came  to,  I  was  again 
living  on  the  floor  of  my  prison  cell,  which  was  dyed  red  with  my  blood, 
and  my  back  was  burning  as  if  on  fire.  The  strong  man  had  not  only 
pinched  my  back  with  his  tongs,  but  had  torn  out  a  piece  of  my  flesh. 
That  was  why  I  suffered  such  intense  agony  and  that  was  responsible 
for  the  blood  on  the  floor.  For  a  whole  w^eek  they  left  me  in  peace 
but  they  refused  to  give  me  any  clothes.  The  water  they  brought  me 
f  would  not  drink,  despite  my  terrible  thirst.  I  dipped  my  fingers 
into  it  and  then  put  them  to  my  mouth  to  quench  the  thirst,  arid  us€:d 
the  water  to  wash  my  wound.  -^  .^^dJ  jt  ■  0 

—  83  — 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Justice    Triumphs 

Finally,  I  was  once  more  dragged  out  for  a  hearing.  In  the  room 
to  which  I  was  brought  there  were  all  new  faces,  although  otherwise 
everything  was  as  before.  As  soon  as  I  saw  the  people  who  were 
sitting  at  the  table,  I  understood  that  something  new  was  about  to  take 
place.  I  was  told  that  my  case  was  being  investigated  all  along,  and 
that  all  those  guilty  of  the  robbery  as  well  as  the  informers-pro- 
vocateurs and  the  magistrate  who  tried  me,  but  did  not  impart  the  true 
information  to  the  Commissariat,  had  been  arrested  and  sentenced  to 
be  shot.  The  Chinaman  who  had  hit  me  with  the  butt  of  his  gun,  was 
executed.  It  was  my  guard  who  had  robbed  me  and  who,  having  taken 
out  the  window-pane,  had  handed  over  the  valise  with  the  money  to  his 
brother.  The  latter,  together  with  Lubansky,  took  out  the  money, 
filled  the  valise  with  sand,  replaced  the  window-pane,  and  fastening  it 
with  fresh  putty,  made  off.  All  the  money,  in  the  same  packages  a^ 
originally  packed  at  the  bank  had  been  taken  from  the  guard's  brother. 
Siemashkevich  and  Lubansky  were  found  guilty  first  because  of  ag- 
itating against  the  Government  in  speeches  made  in  Bielayah  Tserkov 
and  Lipovitz  and,  then,  because  they  had  spied  for  Petlura  and  for 
Skoropadsky,  respectively.  They  were  both  sentenced  to  be  shot. 
I  could  not  believe  my  ears.  I  was  taken  out  to  the  court-yard,  and 
there,  in  my  presence,  all  the  culprits,  with  the  exception  of  Metro- 
politan Platon,  were  executed.  He  had  also  been  sentenced  to  death, 
but  had  made  good  his  escape. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


/  Trace  Platon  to  New  York 
After  all  the  tortures  which  I  have  but  briefly  described  here,  I 
learned  that  Metropolitan  Platon,  who  had  robbed  me  and  who  was 
directly  responsible  for  all  my  torments  and  suifering,  was  in  Odessa. 
My  wife  and  I  went  there,  but  when  we  arrived,  he  was  no  longer  in 
Odessa.    He  had  robbed  the  treasury  of  a  certain  convent  of  $80,000.00 

-    84  — 


and  sailed  on  a  French  steamer,  first  for  Constantinople,  and  then  to 
Bulgaria.  With  this  information  as  a  clue,  in  an  endeavor  to  get 
Platon,  I  hurried  on  to  Bulgaria,  only  to  discover,  while  in  Sofia,  that 
Metropolitan  Platon  had  left  for  America  quite  a  while  ago. 

Early  in  November,  1921,  I  arrived  in  New  York,  and  came  to 
the  New  York  Consistor>%  at  15  East  97th  Street,  where  Platon  makes 
his  home.  I  asked  to  be  announced  without  disclosing  my  identity. 
Platon  did  not  receive  me,  but  I  was  permitted  to  see  Bishop  Alexander 
Nem.olovsky.  Alexander  listened  to  my  story  and  asked  me  to  submit 
a  petition.  I  did  as  I  was  told  and  submitted  a  petition 
on  November  17,  1921.  When  I  came  to  him  with  it,  Alex- 
ander became  so  enraged  that  he  pounded  me  on  the  chest,  and 
shouted :  "If  you,  you  Anti-Christ,  you,  will  dare  ask  His  Holiness 
for  money,  we  will  make  short  shrift  of  you— this  is  not  Russia.  You 
will  be  arrested  and  deported  to  Russia  as  a  dangerous  Bolshevik!" 
That  was  the  reply  to  my  petition  that  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky 
gave  me  and  he  must  have  been  well  informed  about  all  by  Metro- 
politan Platon.  After  venting  his  rage  on  me,  he  left  the  room.  The 
people  in  the  Consistory  advised  me  to  go  to  the  well-known  people's 
priest,  Father  Vladimir  Richlov,  who  lived  on  Madison  Street.  ''He 
is  a  great  favorite  of  both  Alexander  and  Platon,"  they  told  me.  "He 
is  a  Jack  of  all  trades.  He  leased  a  house  on  Madison  Street,  and 
pretending  to  be  the  owner,  has  borrowed  thousands  of  dollars  on  it 
to  date,  and,  just  watch,  Platon  will  make  good  all  his  obligations  for 
him.  Buimistrov,  Chairman  of  the  Church  Relief  Committee,  prom- 
ised to  present  Richlov  with  $8,000.00  for  the  purchase  of  the  house. 
It  is  rumored  that  Richlov  'massages'  both  Bishops.  He  is  in  their 
apartment  now.  He  can  do  anything  with  them.  If  he  becomes  in- 
terested in  your  case,  you  will  get  your  money  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  "People's  Priest"  an  Arch-Provocateiir 

The  "People's  Priest,"  who  had  been  recommended  to  me  at  the 
Consistory,  turned  out  to  be  none  other  than  the  well-known  Agent- 

—  85  — 


Provocateur,  Vladimir  Richlov.  I  found  him  at  the  given  address. 
When  I  called  on  him,.  I  found  with  him  the  priest  Vassili  Ptashchuk, 
his  psalm-reader.  I  told  Richlov  all  about  my  trials  and  tribulatior.s, 
and  all  about  the  money  I  had  lent  to  Platon.  Father  Richlov  rephe<; 
that  he  knew  all  about  my  affair.  Judging  by  his  words  and  demeanoi , 
he  v/as  ready  to  take  as  much  interest  in  me  as  a  father  or  mother. 
He  told  me  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  an  honest,  decern  family  of 
a  well-known  C(3ssak  General.  He  stated  that  his  father  was  still  hi 
military  service,  but. that  he,  the  ?nn,  had  changed  his  army  career  for 
one  Vv^^th  the  Chr.rc!:  l;c^ :    :c  (  '     '■  '(re  cr  r.victicn. 


Father  and  Provocateur  Vladimir  Richlov. 

Showing  me  Platon's  and  Alexander's  visiting  cards,  Father  Rich- 
lov told  me  that  not  only  did  these  two  Bishops  admire  and  respect 
him,  but  that  they  also  feared  him,  and  were  at  this  beck  and  calL 
"When  I  beckon  they  must  turn,"  he  said.  "They'll  turn  right  or  left 
and  if  I  call  'Halt !'  they  must  stop."  In  addition  to  Platon's  and 
Alexander's  cards,  Richlov  showed  me  letters  from  a  few  Americans, 
in  which  he  was  addressed  as  "The  Russian  Bishop,  Vladimir  Rich- 
lov." Finally,  he  promised  to  pull  a  certain  string  find  compel  Platon 
and  Alexander  to  return  not  only  my  $7,800.00,  but  also  all  the  in- 
terest, and  a  refund  of  all  expenses  I  had  incurred. 

A  few  days  later.  Father  Richlov  asked  me  to  call  on  him  and 
stated :  "Dudikoff,  you  will  get  your  money  to  a  cent.  Platon  prom- 
ised to  do  my  bidding  just  as  T  told  you  he  would.  You  will  get  your 
money,  but  on  one  condition — you  must  comply  with  his  request." 
When  I  asked  what  they  would  like  me  to  do.  Father  Richlov  replied: 

~  S6  — 


''You  see,  Metropolitan  Platon  has  been  appointed  All-Russian  Pat- 
riarch, to  take  the  place  of  Metropolitan  Tikhon.  A  communication 
to  this  effect  has  been  received  from  Ambassador  Bakhmetyev.  It  is 
therefore  necessary  to  exonerate  Platon  of  all  accusations  made  against 
him.  Since  your  aft"airs  with  him  has  caused  a  sensation  not  in  Russia 
and  the  Ukraine  alone,  but  in  America  as  well,  it  may  prove  an  ob- 
stacle not  only  towards  His  Holiness'  occupying  the  Holy  Throne,  but 
to  his  leaving  America,  and  most  of  all,  it  will  prevent  him  from  re- 
paying your  money.     It  is  up  to  you  now  to  remove  this  obstacle." 

I  inquired  how  it  was  that  I  served  as  an  obstacle  to  Platon's  re- 
turning my  money.  To  this  Richlov  replied:  "Ambassador  Bakh- 
metyev promised  Platon  to  contribute  a  great  amount  of  money  to 
the  Church  Fund,  but  since  he  heard  of  your  affair,  he  is  waiting  for 
the  Holy  Patriarch  Platon  to  be  cleansed  of  all  the  accusations  you 
have  brought  against  him."  To  my  question  as  to  what  to  do  to  re- 
move the  obstacle,  Richlov's  answer  wa-::  "Just  one  thing- -you  must 
copy  this  written  confession  and  have  it  sworn  to  before  a  notary." 
Father  Richlov  then  handed  me  a  sheet  of  paper.  I  was  struck  dumb. 
When  I  recovered,  I  asked  Richlov :  "Why,  does  the  Greek-Orthodox 
Church  permit  such  written  confessions?"  Richlov  replied:  "Not 
only  arc  written  confession  permissible  in  America,  but  at  present  they 
^se  required.  If  you  don't  sign  this  confession,  you  may  bid  farewell 
to  your  money  as  well  as  to  all  hope  of  my  assistance." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Platon  Obtains  My  "Confession"  by  Fraud 

I  perused  the  paper  Father  Richlov  handed  me.  It  was  a  rough 
•draft  of  a  written  confession,  dictated  by  Metropolitan  Platon  and 
transcribed  by  Father  Richlov  himself.  I  have  it  among  my  papers  as 
•documentary  evidence.    The  paper  read  as  follows : 

"Your  High  Eminence,  Bishop  Metropolitan  Platon !  Mer- 
ciful Archpriest  and  Father !  I  herewith  confess  as  before  the 
Lord  God,  Himself  and  before  your  Emmence,  that  I  have  been 
guilty  before  you.     i)   I  confess  in  writing  that  I  have  never 

—  87  — 


given  you  any  money;  2)  That  I  have  insulted  you  in  vain 
with  my  letters  and  personal  calls  in  Russia  and  in  America. 
I  surmise  that  both  you  and  I  must  have  been  the  dupes  of 
unscrupulous  persons;  3)  I  entreat  you  on  my  bended  knees 
to  forgive  me,  I  have  suffered  a  nervous  break-down  from  the 
horrors  of  the  Revolution  and  from  sorrow  for  Mother-Russia. 
Bless  me  with  your  Holy  Benediction,  and  may  I  learn  to  be 
humble  and  patient.  Pardon  and  forgive  me,  the  sinful  and 
unworthy  one.  I  swear  that  to  my  dying  day,  I  shall  never 
make  any  demands  on  you.  Please  pray  with  your  holy  orisons 
for  me.     Your  Spiritual  Son 

(Signed) " 


CHAPTER  XXXUI. 

The  "To-Morrow"  That  Never  Comes 

Their  "to-morrow"  has  lasted  until  this  very  day,  and  not  alone 
that,  — Father  Richlov,  in  the  name  of  Platon  and  his  assistant, 
Alexander,  has  ever  since  then  been  threatening  me  with  jail  and 
deportation  to  Russia.  "Your  confession  is  in  the  hands  of  Met- 
ropolitan Platon,  and  if  you  utter  one  word  about  your  money,  you 
will  land  where  you  will  never  be  found.  And  if  you  dare  annoy  me, 
my  wife  will  make  short  shrift  of , you  by  throwing  you  out,  and  my 
son  Volodia  will  thrust  a  knife  into  your  belly.  Don't  forget  with 
whom  you  are  dealing  —  I  am  of  Cossack  descent !"  After  this,  taking 
Priest  ptashchuk  with  me,  I  called  at  the  Consistory  three  times  and 
twice  at  the  office  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Russian  Relief,  Mr.  V.:V. 
Buimistrow,  during  June,  1922. 

During  my  first  call,  on  a  Wednesday,  I  saw  Bishop  Alexander 
Nemolovsky.  I  asked  him,  in  Father  Ptashcchuk's  presence,  when 
my  $7,600.00  would  be  returned  to  me.  I  told  him  that  so  far  I  had 
received  but  $200.00  and  the  New  Testament.  The  Bishop  answered: 
"I  know  nothing  about  the  matter.  I  sent  you  neither  the  Gospels 
nor  the  money.  Come  back  on  Friday  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon- 
Father  Richlov  will  be  here  and  we  will  discuss  your  affair." 

—  88  — 


The  next  time  I  called  at  the  Consistory  with  my  wife  and  Father 
Ptashchuk  on  Friday,  at  2  o'clock  instead  of  3,  and  asked  to  be 
announced  to  Platon  or  Alexander.  We  were  told  to  wait.  We  waited 
until  3:30  then  asked  once  more  to  be  announced.  The  buder,  on 
returning  from  the  Bishop's  apartments,  delivered  this  message :  "The 
Master  asks  you  to  call  to-morrow,  because  Father  Richlov  is  not 
here,  anr  consequently  you  can  get  no  audience."  In  spite  of  this 
answer,  I  asked  my  wife  and  Father  Ptashchuk  to  wait  with  me.  Soon 
Alexander  appeared,  accompanied  by  a  priest.  I  asked  for  his  blessing. 
Having  noticed  me,  Alexander  appeared  frightened  and  jumped  back. 
"Give  me  your  blessing,"  I  asked,  to  which  he  shouted  in  reply :  "Go 
to  the  devil!  No  blessing  for  you !"  and  then  added :  "I  have  already 
sent  word  to  you  that  Father  Richlov  is  not  here  to-day,  consequently, 
we  cannot  receive  you.  Call  to-morrow.  I  have  not  and  am  not  going 
to  announce  you  to  Metropolitan  Platon.  If  you  don't  like  the  Book 
of  Gospels,  you  may  leave  it  here."  I  had  hardly  time  to  open 
my  mouth,  when  he  left  the  room. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

/  Am  Fed  on  Promises 

The  three  of  us  then  called  on  V.  V.  Buimistrov,  at  350  West  87th 
Street     He  first  saw  Father  Ptashchuk,  then  inquired  about  my  case, 
and  promised  to  look  into  it.     He  told  us  to  come  for  his  decision  on 
Tuesday.     On  Tuesday,   when  we  called,  he  did  not  receive  us  m 
person,  but  sent  his  secretary  to  us,  who  brought  this  message.      W 
have  investigated  the  matter  of  your  money  and  confession.     I    wa 
not  Mearopolitan  Platon  who  procured  the  ^^^'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
Alexander  and  Father  Richlov.    Your  confession  is  m  Platon  s  hands 
and  if  vou  want  it  returner,  take  back  the  $200.00  and  cease  making 

"^tr/ht  that  I  was  rather  to  receive  and  not  to  return^oney^ 
We  proceeded  to  the  Consistory,  and  asked  to  be  announced  to    he 
M^ropolL  or  to  Alexander.     We  were  -1^  ^^h^  ^he^^^  e^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
was  not  receiving  anybody  and  that  Alexander  had  lefi  for  Brooklyn. 

—  89  — 


Leaving  Father  Ptashchuk,  who  had  some  business  of  his  own  to 
attend  to,  at  the  Consistory,  I  left,  bent  for  home.  As  I  was  mounting 
the  stairs  leading  from  the  basement  to  the  street,  I  met  Bishop- 
Alexander.  I  took  off  my  hat,  folded  my  arms,  and  asked  for  his 
blessing.  Instead  of  a  blessing,  he  shook  his  fist  in  my  face,  stamped 
his  foot,  and  whispered  maliciously :  ''Get  out  of  here,  you  son  of  a 
bitch,  you  offspring  of  Satan !    I'll  break  your  head !"     I  cannot  repeat 


Archbishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  fugitive  from  justice  because  of 
a  robbery  of  a  half  a  million  dollars. 


the  profane  words  he  uttered  —  and  those  very  lips  pray  and  preach 
in  church!  "I  did  not  come  to  you  for  this  abuse.  Holy  Father,"  I 
said  to  him,  "but  for  my  money,  which  I  earned  with  the  sweat  of 
my  brow."  —  "May  you  be  accursed.  Anathema !     You  and  all  your 


—  90 


race  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation !  You  will  rot  away  in 
prison  like  a  dog.  I  will  have  your  accursed  soul  leave  your  body  in 
the  Sing  Sing  electric  chair!"  With  these  words  he  turned  around, 
and,  mumbling  something,  ran  back  to  his  apartments.  Robbed,  down- 
trodden, with  contumely  heaped  upon  me,  I  returned  to  our  little 
room  to  my  poor,  sick  wife. 

Two  or  three  days  later  Richlov  came  to  me  and  coaxing  me  not 
to  get  excited,  urged  me  to  see  Archbishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky 
again.     I  took  his  advice  and  went  to  see  Bishop  Alexander.     I  found 


Bandit  General  Semionov  of  Ludlow  Street  Jail. 

with  him  Ambassador  Boris  Bakhmetyev  and  General  Semionov. 
They  told  me  not  to  worry  about  the  money  and  encouraged  me  to  go 
to  Jugoslavia  in  order  to  join  Baron  Wrangel's  Army.  They  hurried 
me  away  for  a  passport  for  Jugoslavia  saying:  ''As  soon  as  you 
get  a  passport  anr  bring  it  to  us,  we  will  turn  over  the  money  to  you 


—  91  — 


immediately,  provided,  of  course,  that  you  take  your  wife  with  you." 
Father  Richlov  accompanied  me  to  the  General  Consulate,  and  I 
received  in  Richlov's  presence  a  passport  for  Jugoslavia.  I  still  have 
this  passport  in  my  possession  as  documentary  evidence.  Besides 
Richlov,  the  General  Consul  Vustinov  anr  Consul  Rutzky,  were  pres- 
ent when  my  passport  was  issued. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
/  Bring  Suit 

I  brought  the  passport  to  the  Consistory,  where  I  was  received 
by  Boris  Bakhmetyev,  General  Semionov,  Metropolitan  Platon,  and 
Archbishop  Alexander.  Alexander  looked  at  the  document,  burst  out 
laughing  like  a  maniac,  and  suggested  that  I  go  to  Canada.  "Didn't 
you  send  me  for  a  passport  so  that  I  could  join  Wrangel's  Forces? 
Here,  I  have  secured  a  passport."  —  "Oh,  I  see...  and  I  had  forgotten 
all  about  it.  That's  fine.  Let  me  see  it."  I  showed  it  to  him.  "Very 
well,  call  on  Sunday,  that  is,  to-morrow.  I  will  see  you  after  services 
and  on  my  way  from  the  altar  you  will  fall  on  your  knees  and  ask  my 
forgiveness."  —  "Forgiveness?  For  what?"  I  asked.  "Well,  that's 
what's  required.  If  you  wish  to  set  everything  right,  do  as  I  tell 
you." 

On  Sunday,  after  liturgy,  I  came  to  the  Consistory  and  saw 
Alexander  Nemolovsky  returning  from  church.  In  the  room  where 
I  met  him  and  where  he  expected  that  I  would  fall  on  my  knees 
before  him,  there  were  gathered  a  few  priests,  friends  of  Metropolitan 
Platon  and  Alexander.  All  were  on  the  look-out  for  what  was  about 
to  take  place.  This  whole  thing  struck  me  as  rather  queer.  I  approached 
him,  and  having  asked  for  his  blessing,  I  told  Archbishop  Alexander 
that  the  genuflexion  affair  impressed  me  as  a  sort  of  conspiracy.  I 
stated  that  I  had  no  intentions  of  making  a  fool  of  myself  in  the 
presence  of  his  friends.  "All  right,"  said  the  Bishop,  "let's  go  up  to 
the  Metropolitan."  In  the  Metropolitan's  apartment  we  found  General 
Semionov  and  Metropolitan  Platon.  Ambassador  Bakhmetyev  was  not 
there. 

—  92  — 


"Metropolitan,"  Alexander  turned  to  Platon,  "Dudikoff  has  re- 
ceived a  passport  from  the  Consulate  and  is  awaiting  the  decision  of 
General  Semionov  and  yourself  regarding  his  trip  to  Jugoslavia."  — 
"I'll  tell  you  what,  Dudikoff,"  replied  Metropolitan  Platon  turning 
to  me,  "If  you  want  to  get  a  good  position  you'd  better  leave  at  once. 
We  will  give  you  traveling  expenses  for  your  wife  and  yourself.  We 
insist  that  she  go  with  you."  —  "But,  please,  your  Eminence,  how 


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Author's  passport  from  Jugoslavia. 

about  my  money?"  I  asked.  To  this  IMetropolitan  replied:  "We 
can  do  no  more !"  I  railed  at  all  of  them,  including  General  Semionov 
and  left,  although  they  tried  to  recall  me.  I  then  went  to  a  lawyer 
and  told  him  the  whole  stors^ 

When  I  read  through  this  "confession"  I  was  completely  at  sea. 


93  — 


Father    Richlov    roticing   my    hesitation    remarked:     "If    you    don't 
sign  this  before  a  notary,  not  only  will  you  lose  your  money,  but  we 
will  arrest  you  and  deport  you  to  Russia,  and  leave  your  wife  here 
as  a  hostage,   or  else.      .     ."     Here  Richlov  took  a  card   from  his 
pocket,   and   showing   it   under   my   very   nose,   added   threatenmgly : 
''If    you  don't  want  to  meet  these,  do  as  you  are  told."    On  the  card 
I  saw  the  following  symbols:   A  skull,  a  revolver  and,  between  them, 
a  bomb.    I   stared  at  Father  Richlov.    After  all  I  hr^.d  gone  through,  | 
his  threats  held  no  terror  for  me,  and  I  decided  to  show  the  paper, 
before  I  signed  it,  to  those  who  could  become  witnesses  of  the  clergy's 
misdeeds.    Father  Richlov,   seeing  that  his  threats  did  not  sway  me  | 
and  that  I  still  hesitated,  changed  his  tactics.    Now,  almost  in  tears, 
he  blamed  his   outburst  on  his  shattered  nerves,   and  apologized   to 
me.    He  next  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  image  of  the  Saviour,  thrice 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  swore  that  he  would  not  give  the 
confession   to   anybody    and   particularly    to    "these   robbers",    as    he 
called  the  Bishops,  until  he  was  handed  the  money.    He  also  vowed 
that  he  would  guard  me  from  harm,  and  If  Metropolitan  Platon  and 
Alexander  and  their  whole  clique  refused  to   return  my  money,  he, 
Richlov,  would  testify  in  Court  in  my  favor  and  not  only  would  he 
demand   that  the   money   I   deposited   m   the   Mission  Bank— $7,800 
plus  interest  be  refunded,  but  that  the  culprits  be  put  in  jail. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

''You  Have  Walked  Into  Our  Trap" 

The  subsequent  promises  affected  me  more  than  all  the  former 
threats.  He  related  how  Alexander  had  tormented  him,  how  he  had 
forbidden  him  to  officiate  at  services,  how  he  had  prosecuted  him  in 
the  courts,  etc.,  etc.  "Don't  be  afraid  of  me,"  Father  Richlov  con- 
tinued, 'T  will  not  deliver  you  into  the  hands  of  these  enemies  of  the 
human  race.  You  don't  believe  me?  Here,  see  what  I  wrote  in  the 
Russian  papers  about  their  autocracy.  Not  only  their  hands,  but 
also  their  souls,  if  they  have  any,  are  drenched  with  blood.    Every- 

—  94  — 


body  knows  that  Alexander  Nemolovsky  was  the  chief  instigator  of 
the  murder  of  Father  A.  Kedrovsky  and  is  responsible  for  the  un- 
timely death  of  Father  Filipovsky.  .  Platon  told  me  how  you  had 
been  tortured  in  the  Ukraine  and  when  I  heard  him  bragging  about 
it,  I  could  hardly  refrain  from  throttling  him.  Don't  be  afraid,  sign 
the  paper.  Go  now,  and  may  God  be  with  you.  To-morrow,  we  will 
together  call  on  these  two  'hermits.'  " 

I  took  the  rough  draft,  went  home,  and  began  to  copy  it.  I  paid 
no  attention  to  the  protests  of  my  wdfe  and  Priest  Vassily  Ptash- 
chuk.  My  "confession"  was  finally  copied.  Together  with  Ptashchuk 
I  went  to  Joseph  Podlensny,  a  notary  public,  who  verified  my  signa- 
ture. The  next  day.  Father  Richlov  and  I  w^ent  to  see  the  Bishops. 
I  asked  Priest  Ptashchuk  to  follow  us,  which  he  did,  unobserved  by 
Father  Richlov.  H  witnessed  quite  a  number  of  things.  I  have  his 
written  testimony  to  that  effect.  Richlov  asked  me  to  wait  for  him 
on  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  97th  Street,  and  went  to  Platon 
and  Alexander  himself.  A  few  minutes  later,  he  emerged  from  the 
Consistory  with  a  radiant  face  and  approached  me,  carrying  a  small 
book  in  his  hands.  Coming  close,  he  said:  "Metropolitan  Platon  can 
by  no  means  receive  you  at  present.  He  is  busy  with  Ambassador 
Bakhmetyev  and  General  Semionov.  They  are  discussing  very  im- 
portant affairs,  requiring  immediate  attention.  I  spoke  to  Platon  and 
to  Bishop  Alexander.  They  send  you  their  blessing  and  this  holy 
Evangel."  Richlov  put  the  book  into  my  hands.  I  took  it,  opened  it, 
and  not  finding  any  money  in  it,  asked  Father  Richlov  whether  he 
was  making  fun  of  me.  "Where  is  my  money?"  I  asked.  I  insisted 
that  Richlov  obtain  my  money  for  me,  as  he  promised  under  oath. 
He  went  back  to  the  Consistory,  and  re-appeared  in  about  fifteen 
minutes.  He  took  me  to  an  ice-cream  parlor  on  the  corner  of  96th 
Street.  There,  deducting  $20.00  "for  his  trouble"  he  gave  me  $180.00, 
reassuring  me  at  the  same  time  that  h  had  not  succeeded  in  obtaining 
all  the  money,  because  "Alexander  and  the  Metropolitan  were  very 
busy  with  the  Ambassador  and  Semionov.  They  promisd  to  repay 
the  remaining  $7,600.00  in  full."  Of  course,  I  asked  Father  Richlov 
w^hether  he  had  given  them  my  written  confession.  He  assured  me 
that  it  w^as  still  in  his  possession.  "To-morrow  Platon  will  receive  the 
Church  Fund  from  the  Ambassador,"  he  said.  "Before  sailing  for 
France,  Bakhmetyev  leaves  his  affairs  with  Uguet  and  he  is  also 
going  to  give  Platon  more  than  $1,000,000.    This  means  that  you  will 

.--  95  — 


get  all  of  your  $7,600.  We  will  aho  try  to  get  costs  for  you,  and 
only  then,"  Father  Richlov  added,  *'I  will  let  him  have  your  con- 
fession." 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  next  day  that  I  met  Father  Richlov 
on  Chambers  Street.  Father  Ptashchuk  was  with  me.  To  my  question : 
"When  are  we  going  for  the  money  ?'^  Father  Richlov  answered  in 
Priest  Ptashchuk's  hearing:  "Why  are  you  so  uneasy?  What  else 
do  you  want?  You  received  the  New  Testament  and  $200.00  and 
the  the  balance,  $2,600.00,  deposited  in  the  bank  and  $5,000.00  for 
the  shares  you  will  receive  to  a  cent  from  Metropolitan  Platon,  You 
will  be  assured  of  a  position  at  $50.00  a  week.    If  you  are  stubborn, 


DISTRICT 


CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 
COUNTY  OF.jl&i^l.'t^/ 


-^r^ 


SUMMONS 
Cin  MAGISTRATES'  COURT     -^ 

ftt  ti)e  0amz  of  t\)t  10topU  of  tlje  ^tatt  of  jlcto  Pork 

To     ^ IXC^I^^^^^-^^^^^:.  y\^uMAr€c:,/il:-M^ 

,.    Con^Jaint  having  been  made  this  day  by        y^    "/^H-4-'  .c:^       ■(,<j;pLC'P. 

^     diat  }ou  did  commit  the  offense  of  " 

-  „_  ..^^  -^'<^uy^c^-^'\.^.^C^ksy^^^^ 

YOU  ARE  HEREBY  SUN-IMONED  to  appear  before  me,  or  any  City  Magistrate  holding  this 

•     Court,  at  No.   A         "  r -  ' ' "  '"  — — 

on  the      /     i-        day  of         )-  X-^-J^^  19  4  ^  at         f'       o'clock        J^ M. 

to  t}.t  end  thtst  an  investigation  may  be'ifSade  of  said  complaint, 

*"  AND  UPON   YOUR   FAILURE  to  appear  at  the  time  and  place  herein  -mentioned  you  are 

j_  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  exceeding  TWENTY-FIVE  D0LI-4lRS. 

Dated,  this. g::.. dayof    .-/      '■  -_  19    - 


^"^^ 


.'-^^ 


'^^^ 


The  summons  for  the   arrest  of  Nemolovsky. 

you  will  not  get  anything,  and  I  will  say  that  I  know  nothing  of  the 
matter.  Remember  now  that  you  have  signed  the  confession  and  thus 
walked  into  our  trap." 

A  suit  was  begun  and  I  had  to  serve  with  summonses  the  Arch- 
priest,  the  Prelates  and  sub-Prelates.  The  Bishops  hid  in  order  to 
avoid  being  served,  and  thus  to  delay  the  trial.  Once  I  came  with 
witnesses  to  the  Consistory  at  15  East  97th  Street  and  asked  to  see 
Metropolitan  Platon.  "He  is  not  in,"  I  was  told.  "Announce  me  to 
Alexander."    I  was  told  that  he,  too,  had  left.    At  that  instant  Arch- 


—  96 


hhhbp  'Alexander  walked  into'  tW  room.  As  sopn  as  he  espied'  me, 
^he  attacked'  me,  beat  me,  and  called  me  the  most  profane  names 
..'imagmable.     He  shoved  me  out  of  the  Consistory,  tearing  my  clothes. 

I  went  back  to  my  attorney  and  related  what  had  taken  place.  He 
-decided  to  sue  Alexander  and  Platon   for  battery  and  assault.     The 


court  issued  a  summons  to  be  served  on  Alexander  Nemolovsky  and 
Metropolitan  Platon,  but  the  former  had  already  escaped  from  the 
United  States  as  a  thief,  murderer,  and  seducer  of  trusting  women 


—  97  — 


and  innocent  young  girls.  Into  the  bargain,  he  had  robbed  his  de- 
votees of  the  sum  of  $500,000.  He  escaped  to  Paris  whence  he  will 
soon  be  brought  in  irons  and  put  in  the  same  place  where  his  friend. 
General  Semionov,  nicknamed  Ludlow,  had  spent  a  few  weeks. 

I  immediately  applied  to  the  American  judicial  authorities,  re- 
taining Ralph  Frinck,  the  well-known  lawyer.  I  hope  and  believe  that 
American  justice  will  decide  the  case  fairly  anr  promptly. 

In  September,  1922,  soon  after  the  suit  was  begun,  I  was  sum- 
moned to  a  Referee's  chambers,  at  1475  Broadway,  where  Metro- 
politan Platon  with  his  tricky  clique  of  anarchists,  monarchists,  ad- 
venturers, and  thieves,  was  present.  To  the  offer  to  settle  the  case 
peacefully,  made  me  by  th  Referee,  and  to  Platon's  plea  that  he  was 
a  mundane  god,  I  gave  this  final,  brief  reply :  ''There  can  be  no  re- 
conciliation," and  I  asked  the  Referee  to  bring  the  entire  case  to  the 
New  York  Supreme  Court  as  a  criminal  case,  in  open  court,  with  a 
jury. 

The  Referee  paid  no  attention  to  my  request  and  continued  sub- 
poening  me  to  many  other  places,  so  that  nobody  could  learn  about 
my  case  against  the  "Holy"  Platon.  Platon  told  wild  tales,  as 
plausible  as  his  announcement  of  a  recent  appointment  as  Chinese 
Emperor. 

Both  my  witnesses  and  I  herd  Platon's  ludicrous  bragging.  In 
his  stories  he  referred  to  an  American  semi-millionaire  Carlton  and  to 
one  F.  Pashkovsky.  Platon  had  ordained  this  Pashkovsky  to  the  rank 
of  Archbishop.  He  had  him  appointed  to  Chicago  to  take  charge  of 
the  Illinois  Diocese.  Two  or  three  weeks  later  the  people  drove 
Pashkovsky  out  of  the  Diocese,'pelting  him  with  rotten  eggs.  Pash- 
kovsky then  ran  away  to  Canada,  leaving  his  mitre  with  a  woman 
whom  he  owed  $200.  In  Canada  he  began  to  preach  to  the  people, 
promising  them  good  positions  if  the  Monarchy  were  restored  in 
Russia.  He'  was  finally  found  out  and  suffered  the  same  fate  as  ia 
Chicago. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

The  Two  "Pillars"  Testify 

These  two"pillars",  Carlton,  the  semi-millionaire,  and  Archbishop 
Pashkovsky,  who   took   Platon'spart,   testified  that  they  had  been  in 

—  98  — 


Russia  and  had  seen   Patriarch  Tikhon.     They  alleged  that  Tikhon 
gave  orders  for  the  appointmen  of  Platon  as     head     of     the     North 
American   Diocese.      These   two   "pillars,"    Carlton   and   Pashkovsky, 
later  assembled  a  band  of  murderers  and  provocateurs  and  called  a 
conference  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.     At  this  conference  was  confirmed  the 

■  appointmen  of  Platon  —  the  same  Platon  who  had  escaperd  from  the 
Kherson  Diocese  and  embezzled  the  sum  of  $80,000.00  from  an  Odessa 
convent.    The  salary  allowed  Platon  by  the  Pittsburgh  convention  was 


Bishop  Stephen  Dzuboi. 

$30,000.00  a  year,  and  besides,  they  obligated  themselves  to  support 
not  only  him  but  also  his  followers.  This  included  al  the  demands 
they  would  make,  such  as  "Athenian  nights,"  '"Egyptian  baths",  and 
the  wives  and  daughters  of  their  followers  for  His  Eminence's  pastime 
and  pleasure. 

—  99  — 


Things  would  have  gone  well  with  Platon,  whom  the  Czar  him- 
self had  nicknamed,  "Highway  Robber",  if  not  for  the  sudden  ap- 
pearance of  Bishop  Stefan  Dzubay.  He  also  called  a  conference  witli 
the  assistance  of  Adam  Fillipovsky,  an  almost  illiterate  man  of  immoral 
habits.  Fillipovsky  has  been  living  most  indecently  on  17th  Street  for 
ten  years  with  an  Austrian  woman  Olshansky.  He  accepted  the  rank 
of  Kshop,  conferred  on  him  by  Bishop  Stefan,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
extort  the  last  few  cents  from  poor  workmen.  He  took  their  money 
and  then  escaped  to  Canada  to  avoid  paying  his  debts. 


Bishop  Adam  Fillipovsky. 

Fillipovsky  opened  his  activity  on  7th  Street,  New  York,  on  the 
premises  of  Alexander  Chichilla,  Platon's  former  spy  and  provocateur. 
The  majority  of  his  followers  were  a  clique  sent  by  Platon  as  pro- 
vocateurs. Apparently  the  people,  however,  refuse  to  follow  Bishop 
Adam,  and  in  the  long  run  the  two  Bishops  will  have  to  combine  and 
hoodwink  the  people  together. 

At  the  Philadelphia  convention  Bishop  Stefan's  party  which  con- 
sisted mostly  of  Metropolitan  Platon's  minions,  that  is,  exclusively  of 
masseurs,  saddists,  hermaphrodites  and  provocateurs,  it  was  unanim- 


—  100 


ously  decided  to  expell  two  Orthodox  priests  who  were  of  the  party, 
in  order  that  all  knowledge  of  the  conspiracies  and  schemes  launched 
at  the  convention  be  kept  from  them.  It  is  remarkable  how  this  band 
of  outcasts  succeeded  in  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  parishioners 
and  delegates,  mulcted  them  of  their  money  and  turned  it  over  to  the 
bishops  and  their  clique. 

After  the  conference,  discovering  that  the  two  priests  who  had 
been  expelled,  were  exposing  their  murderous  misdeeds,  they  cut  out 


Eector  Illinsky — the  spy  of  Metropolitan  Platon. 

the  photos  of  the  tw^o  priests  from  a  large  reproduction  of  the  con- 
ference delegation  taken  December  5,  1922,  and  in  their  places 
substtituted  two  thieves  and  white  slavers,  often  in  the  employ  of 
the  bishops  on  97th  Street.  This  all  with  the  purpose  of  disclaiming 
the  presence  of  these  priests  at  the  conference. 

—  101   —  : 


^«-     ■»;_        ■- 

■  .••:''--^^ 

^^^^■] 

;  '*!    «5*    ft  ^^    ■ 

■.;;:-5 

^ 

■■:M       Ir        ,«»'       • 

1 

' 

4ft  ^    r      '  '3^^:  '^^^ 

1 

'  TUr:  ■■II 

^BkI^HBP% 

i 

I^^S^^^-^ 

pH 

**1#,,^  *"    "t^#i..«,^'-^;■ 

sf^  ■■,-;/: 

1 

^^ 

.  ^       ,,1 

h 

'        "'''^'  M?3 

im^, ) 

1 

1    J  i^^^Pi 

1^ 

—  102 


..xmm'ym^i , 


—  103  — 


The  Bank  whicli 


■obbed  by  Father  Alexander  Chichila. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

/  Ant  Accused  of  Bolshevism 

In  addition  to  all  this,  last  November  they  sent  to  my  apartment 
in  Bayonne,  N.  J.,  a  few  of  their  conspirators  who  stole  $26,000.00  of 
my  money,  took  away  our  family  jewelry  and  arrested  me  on  an 
accusation  of  Bolshevism  and  bribery.  At  the  trial,  they  had  a  number 
of  false  witnesses,  who  were  in  the  end  exposed  by  the  experienced 
judge  and  jury.  The  fair  Amrican  Court,  afttr  a  trial  that  lasted 
fourteen  days,  acquitted  me  and  indicted  the  perjurers,  provocateurs 


^  104 


and  robbers,  who  had  testified  against  me.  I  hope  that  the  just 
American  Courts  will  punish  severely  these  false  witnesses,  robbers 
and  provocateurs,  sent  to  me  by  Metropolitan  Platon  and  his  clique, 
who  robbed  me  and  tried  to  send  me  to  prison  and  my  wife  to  an 
insane  asylum,  or  have  her  deported  to  Russia.  They  failed  in  all 
these  schemes!  One  of  those  whose  trial  for  perjured  testimony 
against  me  is  pending,  is  one  Saul  Wolf,  a  notorious  saloon-keeper 
at  35  West  21st  Street,  Bayonne,  N.  J. 

In  one  thing,  however,  they  did  succeed.  They  had  my  wife 
taken  to  Bellevue  Hospital  and  from  there  she  was  supposed  to  be 
sent  to  a  building  in  Staten  Island.  This  structure  was  burned  down, 
and  many  patients  were  killed  in  the  fire  on  the  night  on  which  my 
wife  was  to  be  taken  there.  Small  wonder  why  on  the  day  prior  to 
the  fire.  Priest  Alexander  Chichillo,  accompanied  by  his  brother-in-law. 
Priest  Varchol,  came  to  me  and  said:  "I  was  to  Staten  Island  in  the 
hospital  but  did  not  find  your  wife  there.  She  must  be  in  another 
building."  The  very  next  day,  the  papers  announced  that  the  very 
house  in  which  my  wife  was  supposed  to  be,  was  burned  down.  The 
following  day  Chichillo  and  Varchol  called  on  me  again,  and  showing 
the  paper  under  my  very  nose,  said :  "Look,  this  is  the  hospital  and 
the  same  house  in  which  your  wife  was,  and  it  is  now  burned  down." 
To  this  I  replied :  'T  wonder  if  this  is  not  your  work."  Chichillo 
replied  sarcastically :  "Your  case  is  now  lost  —  the  chief  witness 
against  Platon  has  perished." 

.  I  wanted  to  detain  him,  but  was  afraid  to  lose  out  in  the  scuffle 
with  the  two.  I  let  the  matteer  go  until  I  could  learn  about  my  wife's 
condition.  I  went  to  Bellevue,  and  finding  her  there,  finally,  with 
difficulty  succeeded,  together  with  Priest  Ptashchuk,  in  taking  her 
out. 

But,  suspecting  something  wrong  in  this  affair,  I  began  to  make 
inquiries.  Alexander  Chichillo,  in  the  meantime,  circulated  the  rumor 
in  the  newspapers  to  the  effect  that  he,  too,  was  coming  out  against 
Platon  and  his  clique.  His  brother-in-law.  Priest  Varchol,  went  to 
Ohio,  where  he  committed  suicide,  having  slain  himself  with  a  razor. 
Thus  all  traces  were  buried.  I  am  certain,  however,  that  it  was 
Alexander  Chichillo's  doing  and  that  it  was  he  who  had  planned  to 
havee  my  wife  killed  by  bribing  the  watchman  of  the  hospital  with 
money  given  him  by  M  etropolitan  Platon. 

To  all  this  I  will  add  that  since  Alexander  Chichillo  had  it  in  his 
power  to  send  my  wife  to  a  hospital   for  the  insane  and  then  give 

—  105  — 


orders  to  have  her  deported  to  Russia,  there  is  not  the  shghtest  doubt 
that  he  was  also  instrumental  in  settting  fire  to  the  Staten  Island 
Hospittal.  It  is  with  the  eobject  of  tying  my  hands  that  they  have 
been  dragging  me  to  all  sortts  of  American  Courts  and  have  obtained 
a  judgment  against  me  for  $600.00.  This  money  was  collected  from 
me  more  than  once,  to  pay  the  bandits  and  robbers  Kuklinsky  who 
were  bribed  by  Valerian  Graves,  Platon's  attorney,  and  Buimistrov, 
Chairman  of  the  Russian  Relief.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  tell  of 
all  the  machinations  and  misdeeds  of  Platon  and  his  minions.  I  there- 
fore, respectfully  request  the  United  States  Attorney  General  to 
institute  a  most  stringent  investigation  of  all  the  crimes  prepetrated 
by  Metropolitan  Platon  and  his  clique. 


—  106  — 


HHI^^^^HIH 

■n 

^^■^                          4S|| 

^^^^^^^^^kFJp^^I^^^^Hp^^^^^^^^^H 

p 

^^^^^^^^H^^S^tf  "  '^^i^H 

■          ^'^.^^1 

r, 

11  i  1  n^^^H 

m  '    ^^^K 

%  m 

y^pi  «  1    lii^^^^^^^^H 

V  h 

m 

The  Holv  Father's  '-noo  i  tiT^v  ".     Scene  oik 


■R 

hb^^^^^ 

N 

r 

1 

h 

m 

^^«           ^^^^J^^^^H 

s. 

J 

hM! 

^■^Hkk 

.j^m 

IPiKV 

The  Holy  Father's  ''Good  time".    Scene  two. 

—  107  — 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Affidz'ait  of  Maria  M.  BGgdanoz'a-Dudikoff 
Wife  of  former  Captain  of  the  Russian  Army,  Priest  John  F.  Dudikoff. 

Maria  M.  Bogdanova-Dudikoff,  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and 
says  that  she  was  with  her  husband  in  Petrograd,  Russia,  in  June,  1917 
and  that  her  husband  wrote  a  letter  to  the  defendant,  Metropolitan 
Rozhdesttvensky,  requesting  him  to  return  the  $7,800.00  which  he  owes 
him; 

That  Platon  Rozhdestvensky  gave  my  husband  5,600  rubles  in 
500-ruble  notes,  in  the  Kiev  Hostelry  in  the  ecity  of  Petrograd,  in  the 
same  month  of  June.  These  rubles  were  valueed  at  42  rubles  to  a 
dollar ; 

,  That  Platon  was  given  a  receipt  by  my  husband  and  that  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  receipt  which  my  husband  signed,  it  was  designated 
that  the  balance  would  be  paid  by  Metropolitan  Rozhdestvensky  in 
American  dollars ; 

That  she  saw  how  Rozhdestvensky  crumpled  up  and  threw  away 
the  old  reeceipt  which  her  husband  contended  should  not  be  considered ; 

That  her  husband,  having  been  seriously  wounded  in  the  war, 
the  said  Rozhdestvensky  called  her  aside  and  said  that  her  husband 
would  hardly  live  long,  and  that  she  should  not  be  afraid  that  the 
money  might  be  lost  and,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross,  added:  'T  will 
pay  out  the  money  to  a  copeck,  and  PU  pay  it  in  Dollars." 

That  she  also  was  with  her  husband  in  Moscow  in  the  same  year 
-and  that  there  Metropolitan  Rozhdestvensky,  in  the  apartment  of  the 
all-Russian  Patriarch  Tikhon,  at  the  Swiato-Troyetzky  Hostelry,  gave 
his  word  that  he  would  refund  the  $7,800.00  with  interest,  in  American 
dollars  and  asked  her  husband  to  wait  a  few  days,  promising  to  notify 
him  when  the  dollars  would  come,  in  order  to  pay  either  her  husband 
or  herself. 

That  all  these  promises  made  in  the  presence  of  the  all-Russian 
Patriarch  Tikhon,  turned  out  to  be  lies.  Metropolitan  Rozhdestvensky 
did  not  keep  his  promise  and  left  for  the  Caucasus  without  having 
written  a  single  word  to  her  husband,  regarding  the  payment  in  dol- 
lars, which  he  had  promised  to  make  before  the  Patriarch. 

That  she  was  with  her  husband  in  Kiev  in  January,  1918,  and 
asked  him  to  make  up  with  Platon  in  order  not  to  run  the  danger  of 

.-_  108  — 


being  persecuted  by  the  said  Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky. 

That  some  of  their  acquaintances  advised  him  not  to  sign  the 
bank  account  where  they  thought  the  money  was  not  in  danger, 
but  that  they  considered  that  if  the  detendant  Platon  would  succeed  in 
getting  hold  of  their  account,  it  would  be  easy  for  them  to  prove  it  as 
soon  as  theey  reached  New  York,  as  the  money  was  deposited  by  the 
deponent's  husband  in  the  Cathedral  at  15  East  97th  Street. 

That  her  husband  beheved  that  he  would  receive  the  money  due 
him  excepting,  of  course,  the  part  which  he  had  already  received. 

That  deponent  was  also  present  when  her  husband  signed  the  first 
part  of  exhibit  "D"  and  that  her  husband  demanded  the  money  which, 
he  was  promised,  w^ould  be  paid  him  and  which  was  not  refunded ; 

That  two  days  later  she  was  present  when  her  husband  signed  the 
second  part  of  exhibit  "D"  and  haw  that,  as  soon  as  he  signed  it, 
soldiers  rushed  into  the  room,  gave  the  deponent  a  severe  beating  and 
took  her  husband  away.  They  demanded  that  the  deponent  also  sign, 
which  she  flatly  refused  to  do; 

That  no  money  w^as  paid  her  husband  at  the  time  while  she  was 
attacked,  and  as  a  result  threw  herself  out  of  the  window  from  the 
second  story  into  the  street  whence  the  people  who  assembled  under 
the  window  sent  her  to  the  hospital ; 

That  a  few  days  later,  having  regained  her  consciousness  the 
deponent  learned  that  her  two  children  had  been  hacked  to  death  by 
the  leaders  of  the  infuriated  crowd  of  Germans  and  Haidamacks 
(Ukrainian  soldiers)  who  rushed  into  deponent's  apartment; 

That  these  leaders  were  Lubansky  and  Semashkevitch  who  were 
employed  by  Metropolitan  Platon  and  Hetman  Skoropadsky; 

That  later  on,  when  various  governments  replaced  one  another 
in  Kiev,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  releasing  prisoners  and  that  de- 
ponent's husband  escaped  from  prison  and  when  Skoropadsky  re-en- 
tered the  city  her  husband  had  to  go  into  hiding  again ; 

That  subsequently  she  rejoined  her  husband  and,  after  the  troubles 
and  tribulations  they  had  undergone,  they  went  to  Poland  and  succeeded 
in  obtaining  a  passport  to  the  United  States,  where  they  arrievd,  in 
the  Port  of  New  York,  on  November  1,  1921. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  a  Notary  Public. 

(Signed)  MARIA  M.  BOGDANOVA-DUDIKOVA 
208  East  13th  Street,  N.  Y. 
July  20,  1922. 


AFFIDAVIT 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 
COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK 

ss 

I,  PRIEST  VASSILY  PTASHCHUK,  a  villager  of  Troyano- 
voka  of  the  Teofipolsk  Rural  Commuity,  District  of  Starokonstanti- 
nov,  Government  of  Volhynia,  was.  born  on  January  1,  1876,  and  am 
now  residing  in  New  York  City. 


The  White  Slave 
Holy  of  Fathers 


I  met  John  F.  DudikofT  in  New  York,  in  December,  1921,  at  the 
home  of  Priest  Vladimir  Richlov,  who  employed  me  in  the  capacity 
of  psalm-reader.  I  saw  DudikofT  at  Father  Richlov's  house  a  few 
times  and  was  present  when  he  asked  Father  Richlov  to  help  him. 


no 


Dudikoff,  to  get  back  from  Metropolitan  Platon  and  the  Consistory  on 
East  97th  Street  the  $2,800.00  plus  interest,  which  Dudikoff  had  de- 
posited at  the  Mission  Bank  for  safe-keeping,  and  also  the  $5,000.00 
which  Metropolitan  Platon  took  of  him  in  1914  and,  together  with 
Archpresbyter  John  Slunin,  gave  Dudikoff  shares  of  the  Oil  Field 
Company,  whose  oil-wells  are  located  between  the  Caspian  and  the 
Azov  Seas,  as  security. 

Later,  from  a  personal  conversation  with  Dudikoff,  I  learned  in 
greater  detail  about  this  money  and  what  Dudikoff  had  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  Platon  in  Kiev  ('Russia),  because  he  dared  to  ask  for  the 
return  of  his  money.  Whenever  Dudikoff  and  Father  Richlov  spoke 
about  it  at  the  latter's  home,  I  was  well  aware  what  it  was  al  about, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Father  Richlov  would  often  call  Dudikoff 
aside  and  hold  a  whispered  conversation  with  him.  The  affair  became 
still  clearer  to  me  when  Father  V.  Richlov  made  the  following  de- 
mand of  me: 

"You  must  keep  to  yourself  all  you  have  heard  at  my  home  re- 
garding the  money  deposited  by  Dudikoff  in  Metropolitan  Platen's 
Mission  Bank,  as  well  as  the  money  taken  of  Dudikoff  by  Platon  and 
Slunin  for  which  they  gave  him  the  Oil  Field  Compaly's  shares  as 
security.  When  you  are  alone  with  Dudikoff  you  must  draw  him  out 
and  report  to  us  what  he  is  planning  to  undertake  against  Platon  and 
Alexander  in  order  to  get  his  money  back.  If  Dudikoff  should  ever 
bring  suit  in  Court  and  calls  you  as  a  witness,  you  must  testify  that 
you  have  never  been  prssent  during  my  conversations  with  Dudikoff, 
never  heard  anything  of  his  money  or  shares,  and  flatly  deny  every- 
thing. Owing  to  this,  Dudikoff  will  not  get  his  money  of  the  Metro- 
politan, and  the  Metropolitan  will  thank  you." 

Seeing  that  they  were  intending  to  cheat  poor  John  F.  Dudikoff 
out  of  his  money,  I  was  more  inclined  to  do  all  I  could  to  help  him 
rather  than  to  side  with  the  conspirators  and  cheats.  When,  therefore. 
Dudikoff  himself  asked  me  to  be  of  assistance  to  him,  I  agreed  with- 
out any  hesitation  or  subterfuge  to  keep  an  eye  on  Father  V.  Richlov 
I  always  tried  to  be  near  Father  Richlov,  although  unobserved  by  him. 
whenever  he  met  John  Dudikoff.  I  thus  was  present  at  their  meetings. 
and  this  entire  affair,  unworthy  of  the  high  calling  of  the  clerg>^  hae 
not  escaped  my  attention.  Only  once  did  Father  Richlov  see  me  ir 
the  Consistory  with  Dudikoff',  but  this  was  after  last  meeting  of  Dudi- 
koff and  Richlov. 

—  Ill  — 


Ort  May  18,  1922,  I  saw  Father  Richlov  leave  Dudikoff  on  the 
corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  97th  Street,  Nev^  York.  Pachlov  went 
to  the  Consistory,  returned  with  a  little  book  and  handed  it  ti  Dudikoit. 
It  later  turned  out  to  be  a  Baptist  version  of  the  Gospels.  I  further 
saw  that  Father  Richlov,  after  another  talk  with  Dudikoff  went  once 
more  to  the  Consistory,  and  having  emerged  from  there  fifteen  minutes 
later,  took  him  to  an  ice-cream  parlor  on  the  corner  of  96th  Street. 
I  followed  them  to  the  ice-cream  parlor  and  saw  through  the  window 
how  Father  Richlov,  having  counted  out  nine  bills  at  $20.00  each, 
handed  them  to  John  Dudikoff,  put  the  tenth  $20.00  bill  into  his  own 
pocket,  and  taking  out  a  card  handed  it  to  Dudikoff.  Dudikoff  wrote 
something  on  the  card  and  returned  it  to  Father  Richlov.  x\fterwards, 
Dudikoff  explained  to  me  that  Father  Richlov  had  him  sign  a  receipt 
for  the  $200.00,  and  having  no  paper,  Dudikoff  wrote  the  receipt 
on  Father  Richlov's  visiting  card.  It  was  7  :00  o'clock  in  the  evening 
when  I  saw  all  this. 

The  next  day  I  was  present,  this  time  without  hiding,  at  the 
meeting  between  Father  V.  Richlov  and  Dudikoff  on  Chambers  Street. 
I  stood  so  near  them  that  I  heard  everything  that  passed  between  them, 
particularly  so  that,  being  excited,  both  spoke  very  loudly,  especially 
Father  Richlov.  To  Dudikoff's  question :  "When  am  I  going  do  get  the 
balance?"  Father  Richlov,  all  excited,  replied:  "Why  are  you  so 
uneasy?  What  else  do  you  wish?  You  received  the  Gospels,  you 
received  $200.00  and  the  rest  of  the  money  —  the  $2,600.00  you  de- 
posited in  the  Mission  Bank  and  the  $5,000.00  for  which  they  gave  you 
shares,  Metropolitan  Platon  will  pay  you  to  a  cent  to-morrow.  You 
will  also  get  a  position  at  $50.00  a  week.  And  if  you  insist,  you  will 
get  nothing  at  all,  and  I  will  say  that  I  don't  know  anything  about 
the  matter.  Remember  that  you  have  already  walked  into  our  trap 
by  having  signed  your  confession." 

I  saw  the  rough  draft  of  the  "Written  Confession",  whitten  in 
Father  Richlov's  hand  (his  handwriting  is  very  well  known  to  me), 
from  which  Dudikoff  copied  his  "Confession".  I  am  familiar  with 
the  contents  of  the  "Written  Confession"  because  I  had  the  rough 
draft  in  my  hands  and  read  it.  This  "Written  Confession"  was  signed 
by  Dudikoff  in  my  presence  and  his  signature  was  ceritfied  by  Notary 
Public  Joseph  Podlesny  in  the  latter's  office  at  9th  Street  near  Third 
Avenue. 

Early  in  June,  1922,  I  called  three  times  together  with  Dudikoff, 
at  the  Consistory,  15  East  97th  Street. 

—  112  — 


The  first  time,  on  a  Wednesday,  we  saw  Bishop  Alexander  Xemo- 
lovsky.  Dudikoff  asked  Bishop  Alexander  in  my  presence  when  his 
money,  $7,600.0{)  would  be  refunded  to  him,  saying  that  he,  Dudikoff, 
had  meanwhile  received  only  $200.00  and  a  New  Testament.  To  this 
Alexander  Nemolovsky  replied  :  'T  know  nothing  about  it.  It  was  not 
I  who  sent  you  either  the  money  or  the  New  Ttestament.  Com  back 
at  3  :00  o'clock  on  Friday  afternoon.  Father  Richlov  will  be  here  then, 
and  he  will  discuss  the  matter."     A\'ith  this  Dudikoff  and  I  left. 

The  second  time  we  called,  as  told  by  Bishop  Alexander,  on  Friday 
but  at  2  :00  o'clock  instead  of  at  3  :00  o'clock.  We  asked  to  be  an- 
nounced to  ]\IetropolitanPlaton  or  to  Bisho])  Alexander  XenKjlovsky. 
W^ith  us  was  also  Dudikoff's  wife.  \Yq  had  to  wait  until  3  :30.  We 
asked  once  more  to  be  announced.  The  butler,  returning  from  the 
Bishop's  apartment,  said  to  us :  "The  Bishop  asks  you  to  call  to- 
morrow, because  Father  Richlov  is  not  here  at  present  and  therefore 
you  can  get  no  audience." 

In  spite  of  this  answer  we  decided  to  wait.  Soon  Alexander  Nemo- 
lovsky appeared,  accompanied  by  another  clerg}'man.  Dudikoff  was 
the  first  to  ask  the  Bishop  for  his  blessing,  but  as  soon  as  Alexander 
espied  him  he  literally  leaped  aside  and  the  priest  who  was  with  him 
instinctively  jumped  aside  from  the  Bishop.  Alexander  then  shouted: 
"Go  to  the  devil !  No  blessing  for  you !"  And  in  another  minute  he 
added:  "I  have  already  sent  word  to  you  that  Father  Richlov  w^as 
not  here  and  that  therefore  there  will  b  no  recption.  I  hav  not  and 
am  not  going  to  announce  you  to  Metropolitan  Platon.  If  you  don't 
like  the  New  Testament  he  presented  you  with,  leave  it  here."  After 
this.  Bishop  Alexander  ran  out  of  the  room,  and  we  went  to  call  on 
V.  V.  Buimistrov,  head  of  the  Russian  Relief,  at  his  office,  350  West 
87th  Street,  to  ask  his  advice. 

At  first  Buimistrov  received  only  myself.  After  having  heard  my 
request,  he  asked  me  who  the  man  with  me  was.  I  introduced  Dudi- 
koff, and  the  latter  told  Buimistrov  in  detail  about  his  case,  mentioning 
also  his  "Written  Confession."  Buimistrov  promised  to  look  in  mto 
the  matter  thoroughly  and  asked  us  to  come  for  an  answer  on  Tuesday. 

Under  the  fresh  impression  of  Bishop  Alexander's  words  :  "There 
will  be  no  reception  because  Father  Richlov  is  not  in,"  I  askd  Buimist- 
rov:  "Mr.  Buimistrov,  will  you  kindly  tel  me,  who  is  the  Elder  in 
our  Consistory,  and  who  is  in  charge  of  receiving  callers.  Bishop 
Alexander  or  Father  Richlov?"  To  this  Buimistrov  replied  that 
Alexander  was  in  charge  of   receiving  callers,   and   I   told  him  how 

—  113  — 


Alexander  had  got  rid  of  us  with  thse  excuse  that  there  could  be  no 
audience  because  Father  Richlov  was  not  in. 

On  Tuesday,  we  called  again  at  Buimistrov's  office,  as  per  ap- 
pointment. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  himself  had  invited  us,  Bui- 
mistrov  did  not  come  out  to  us  but  sent  his  assistant  who  stated  :  "We 
have  investigated  the  matter  concerning  the  money  and  your  confes- 
sion. It  was  not  Metropolitan  Platon  but  Alexander  and  Father  Rich- 
lov wor  entrapped  you  with  your  confession,  but  it  is  now  in  the 
hands  of  Metropolitan  Platon,  and  if  you  want  to  get  it  back,  return 
the  $200.00  and  cease  making  any  further  demands." 

Dudikoff  replied  that  he  was  not  going  to  do  so,  and  we  went  to 
the  Consistory.  This  was  the  third  time.  We  asked  to  be  announced 
either  to  the  Metropolitan  or  to  Bishop  Alexander.  The  butler  went 
to  the  Bishop's  apartment.  He  soon  returned,  stating  that  the  Metro- 
politan was  not  receiving  and  that  Bishop  Alexander  had  left  for 
Brooklyn.  Dudikoff  was  about  to  go  home,  and  I  remained  in  the 
hall. 

As  soon  as  Dudikoff  went  outside.  Bishop  Alexander  also  left 
the  Consistory.  I  saw  through  the  window  Dudikoff  take  off  his  hat 
and  approach  the  Bishop ;  I  further  saw  the  Bishop  shake  his  fist  at 
him,  stamp  his  foot  on  the  sidewalk  and  shout  something.  Later  Du- 
dikoff told  me  that  when  he  asked  the  Bishop  when  he  was  to  call  for 
the  money,  Bishop  Alexander  began  to  curse  him  together  with  his 
posterity,  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generations,  and  threatened  to 
send  him  up  to  Sing-Sing.  I  saw  how  afterwards  Bishop  Alexander 
ran  back  to  the  Consistory,  and  how  Dudikoff  hat  in  hand,  apparently 
having  forgotten  to  put  it  on,  with  bowed  head,  walked  off  in  the 
direction  of  Madison  Avenue. 

After  all  this,  Father  Richlov  in  person  called  at  my  home,  172 
East  Third  Street,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  landlady,  Anna  Wish- 
nevsky  and  her  children,  asked  me:  "Have  you  ever  seen  me  in 
Dudikoff's  company?"  And  when  I  answered  that  I  had,  and  more 
than  once  at  that,  and  that  I  knew  all  about  the  trick  they  had  played 
on  Dudikoff  and  that  I  could  prove  it  in  Court,  either  here  or  in  Russia, 
Father  Richlov  became  terribly  infuriated.  He  began  to  threaten 
Dudikoff  and  myself  with  arrest,  deportation,  etc.,  etc,,  adding: 

"After  this,  I  go  my  w^ay,  and  you,  Vassily,  and  Dudikoff  don't 
you  dare  show  your  noses  at  my  threshold !  Otherwise  my  wife  will 
hit  you  with  a  broom  —  you  Vassily,  once,  and  Dudikoff,  twice.  If 
you  only  dare  call  on  me  you,  Vassily,  know  my  son,  Volodia  —  he 

—  114  —      — 


will  stab  you  both  with  a  knife  in  the  belly."  I  did  not  reply  to  this. 
Father  Richov  left.  My  landlady  then  said  to  me:  "For  all  oyur 
labor,  for  all  the  collections  you  have  made  for  his  church,  and  for 
serving  him  in  the  capacity  of  psalm  reader  —  this  is  the  reward  you 
got  from  Father  Richlov." 

Thus,  I  was  a  witness  of  John  F.  Dudikoff  being  cheated  by  the 
conspirators,  cheats,  thieves  and  robbers,  clothed  in  high  ecclesiast- 
ical dignity,  such  as  Metropoitan  Platon,  Archbishop  Alexander  Ne- 
molovsky.  Provocateur  Richlov  and  the  rest  of  their  gang. 

I  am  to  testify  in  open  court  in  behalf  of  the  outraged,  robbed, 
and  cheated  John  F.  Dudikoff,  and  will  not  only  confirm  everything 
I  am  saying  here  in  writing  but  am  also  ready  and  willing  to  tell  all 
I  know  about  the  terrible,  abnormal  life  led  by  Metropolitan  Platon, 
Archbishop  Alexander  Nemoovsky,  Provocateur  Priest  Richlov  and 
other  persons. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me 
this  27th  day  of  July,  1923. 

Rev.  VASSILY  PTASHCHUK. 

Abraham  Yollis,  Notary  Public,  N.  Y.  C,  No.  15 


—  115 


SUPREME  COURT,   NEW  YORK  CITY. 
JOHN  S.  KEDROVSKY,  etc. 
Plaintiff, 
—  against  — 
ARCHBISHOP  and  CONSISTORY  of  the  Rus- 
sian Orthodox  Greek  Catholic  Church,  etc. 
Defendants 

STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 
COUNTY  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

SS. 

EUGENIA  KOHANIK,  having  first  been  duly  sworn,  according 
to  law,  on  her  oath,  deposes  and  says : 

1.  That  she  resides  at  No.  591  North  Main  Street,  in  the  City 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  that  she  is  the 
wife  of  the  Reverend  Peter  Kohanik,  Arch- Priest  of  the  Russian 
Church  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 

2.  That  she  knows  Canadian  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky, 
as  a  man  of  a  dangerous  and  immoral  character. 

3.  That  there  are  wide  spread  rumors  among  the  clergy  as  well 
as  the  laity,  of  Bishop  Nemolovsky's  immorality,  which  have  a  fatal 
and  disastrous  effect  upon  the  affairs  of  the  Orthodox  Russian 
Church  in  the  United  States. 

4.  That  while  she  was  residing  at  Jersey  City,  New  Jersey, 
Bishop  Nemolovsky  was  trying  and  did  on  numerous  occasions,  to 
-advance  his  love  and  his  "dirty  propositions..."  to  her.  Knowing 
the  time,  when  her  husband,  as  the  superintendent  of  the  Churches, 
was  out  of  their  house,  visiting  churches.  Bishop  Nemolovsky,  used 
to  come  to  their  residence,  not  having  been  invited  and  contrary  to 
her  wishes.  When  by  her  reminded  of  the  fact  that  her  husband 
is  out,  attending  to  his  duties,  and  that  no  one  invited  the  Bishop, 
Bishop  Nemolovsky  replied,  that  he  is  the  Bishop,  and  as  such  he 
has  the  right  to  call  at  the  parrish  house,  at  any  time  he  may  desire 
without  any  permission  from  any  one.  That  is  was  very  difficult  for 
her  to  refuse  him  admission  to  their  house,  on  account  of  the  high 
position  he  holds  with  the  Church,  and  especially  due  to  the  fact  that 
under  the  old  regime  the  Bishop  was  in  a  position  to  do  much  harm 
to  the  career  and  financial   interests  of  my  husband.     That  Bishop 

—  116  — 


Nemolovsky  was  getting  more  persistent  and  unashamed  continu- 
ously. That  a  good  many  times  the  Bishop  Nemolovsky  told  her, 
that  her  husband  is  too  old  for  her,  that  he  is  a  "mujik"  (of  common 
stock),  and  in  no  way  good  enough  for  her.  That  Bishop  Nemo- 
lovsky was  delaying  his  leaving  of  her  house  until  pretty  late  in  the 
night,  and  that  she  was  thereby  compelled  on  numerous  occasions  to 
ask  him  to  leave  her  house,  and  that  she  in  every  way  for  her  possible, 
was  trying  to  make  him  understand  that  he  is  not  welcome  to  visit 
their  house  in  the  absence  of  her  husband.  That  at  one  time  upon 
the  invitation  by  the  said  Bishop  Nemolovsky,  for  her  to  visit  a 
museum  with  him,  where  a  very  interesting  exhibition  and  a  splendid 
orchestra  was  playing  at  the  time,  she  unexpectedly  found  herself  at 
the  Edem,  some  sort  of  an  Anatomic  Museum,  located  at  23rd  Street, 
between  5th  &  6th  Avenues,  New  YorkCity.  That  during  the  visit 
at  the  said  anatomic  museum  the  Bishop  Nemolovsky  paid  particular 
attention  and  was  endeavoring  to  draw  her  attention  to  the  naked 
bodies  of  men  and  women  there  exhibited.  That  he  has  shown  special 
interest,  it  appeared,  in  the  parts  of  the  naked  bodies,  of  which  she 
is  ashamed  to  speak  and  was  asking  very  shameful  questions.  That 
she  was  very  anxious  to  leave  the  said  museum  and  that  she  hurriedly 
left  same,  suspecting  that  Bishop  Nemolovsky  had  some  immoral 
and  dirty  intentions. 

5.  That  Bishop  Nemolovsky  did  not  cease  his  advances  after 
the  occurance  at  the  above  referred  to  museum,  and  has  visited  her 
house  in  the  absence  of  hr  husband  and  among  his  advances  and  his 
usually  dirty  talk,  he  unexpectedly  for  her,  got  hold  of  her  and  kissed 
her.  That  thereupon  she  showed  him  out  of  the  house  and  gave  him 
a  severe  scolding. 

6.  That  in  order  to  save  herself  and  to  safeguard  the  interests 
of  her  husband,  she  decided  to  leave  Jersey  City  and  did  leave  for 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  to  continue  in  her  studies  at  the  University 
there.  That  the  said  Bishop  Nemolovsky  has  advised  her  not  to  take 
such  step  and  promised,  that  if  she  would  remain  in  Jersey  City,  he 
would  use  his  influence  to  obtain  the  appointment  for  her  husband 
of  any  position  in  the  diocese  at  her  wish. 

7'  That  in  order  to  avoid  trouble  between  her  husband  and  the 
said  Bishop  Nemelovsky,  she  did  not  disclose  the  above  facts  to  her 
husband  immediately,  but  after  she  was  commenced  to  notice,  that  the 
said  Bishop  Nemolovsky  is  takeing  steps  to  injure  the  reputation  and 

—  117  — 


position  of  her  husband,  she  disclosed  the  above  facts  to  her  husband, 
explaining  such  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  said  Bishop  Nemolovsky. 
That  since  that  time  the  said  Bishop  Nemolovsky  has  caused  very  much 
trouble  to  her  husband  and  herself,  resulting  in  financial  and  other 
loss  to  her  husband  and  herself. 

EUGENIA  KOHANIK. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me, 
this  23rd  day  of  Octobe,  A.  D.  1918. 
L.  A.  BLOOM 

Notary  Public. 

Commission  Expires  February  19,  1921. 


—  118  — 


IN  THE  COURT  OF  COMMON  PLEAS  OF  PHILADELPHIA 
COUNTY. 

STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  COUNTY  OF  PHILA,  PA. 

I,  Henry  F.  Walton,  Protonotary  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  of  said  County,  which  are  courts  of  Record  having  a  common 
^eal,  being  the  officer  authorized  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  make  the  following  Certificate,  do  Certify,  That 

U.  A.  BLOOM,    Esquire,  before  whom  the 

annexed  affidavit  was  made,  was  at  the  time  of  so  doing  a  NOTARY 
PUBLIC  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  duly  commissioned 
and  qualified  to  administer  oaths  and  affirmations  and  to  take  acknowl- 
edgements and  proofs  of  Deeds  or  Conveyances  for  lands,  tenements, 
and  hereditaments  to  be  recorded  in  said  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
to  all  whose  acts,  as  such,  full  faith  and  credit  are  and  ought  to  be 
given,  as  well  in  Courts  of  Judicature  as  elsewhere  and 

That  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  handwriting  of  the  said 
NOTARY  PUBLIC  and  verily  believe  the  his  signature  thereto  is 
genuine  and  that  said  oath  or  offirmation  purports  to  be  taken  in  all 
respects  as  required  by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  Testimony  Whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed 
the  seal  of  said  Court,  this  24th  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our 
Uord  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighteen  (1918). 

Signature Protonotary. 


—  119  — 


JOTTN   S.  KKDROVSKY,  etc.,  Plaintiff, 

against 

ARCHBISnOf  and   CONSISTORY  of  the  Russian  Orthodox 

Grcck-Catholic  Curch,  etc.,  Defendants. 

STATIC  OF  NEW  YORK, 
CITY  OF  NEW  YORK, 
COUNTY  OF  KINGS. 

ss.  ■    • 

Praskovia  Kedrovsky,  having  been  (kily  sworn,  according  to  Law, 
on  her  oath,  deposes  and  says : 

1.  That  I  reside  at  No.  191  I'ennsylvania  Avenue,  in  the  Borough 
of  Brooklyn,  County  of  Kings,  City  of  New  York,  and  I  am  the  wife 
of  the  Local  Pastor  Rev.  John  Kedrovsky. 

2.  That  I  know  Canadian  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  and 
that  said  Bishf)p  has  a  had  reputation  among  this  clergy. 

3.  That  although  knowing  his  low  character,  I  never  expected 
to  be  ofended  by  him,  being  a  wife  of  the  Pastor  and  elderly  woman, 
We  entertain  Tiishop  Nemolovsky  at  our  house  mostly  to  satisfy  the 
Parishioners   during  certain  Holidays. 

4.  •  Idiat  I>ish()])  Nemolovsky  once  visited  us  in  P>rooklyn,  on 
his  duties  to  perform  services  in  our  Church,  after  services  my 
husband  was  delayed  in  the  church  by  the  people.  Bishop  Nem"o- 
lovsky  came  along  lo  our  residence. 

5.  I  greeted  him  waiting  for  Blessing  as  his  customary  in  our 
Chucrch.  l)ishop  Nemolovsky  started  to  act  strangely.  He  grasped 
my  both  hands  and  held  them  and  shaked  them  all  the  time.  He 
strated  to  tell  me  a  story  of  a  Pastor  his  friend  who  ruined  a  child 
f^irl  of  fifteen  }ears  of  age,  so  that  she  was  carried  out  of  his  office 
half  dead.  Hien  Bishoj)  Nemolovsky  shivered  as  in  fever  and  strived 
to  pull  me  lo  himself.  Realizing  his  dirty  intentions  I  sprang  away 
from  him  liberated  myself  and  1  left  the  room  sitting  all  the  time  in 
the  kitchen  until  the  return  of  my  husband  from  the  Church. 

—  120  — 


6.  That  I  (lid  not  tell  my  husband  of  it  at  once,  but  Kishop  Ne- 
molovsky  making  some  excuses  for  his  going  out  left  our  house  in 
short  time. 

7.  That  there  are  the  rumors  that  the  Pnshop  Nemolovsky  is 
making  the  same  in  the  families  of  other  his  subordinates  taking  ad- 
vantage pi  his  position,  influence  and  rank.  All  that  is  weakening 
our  Church  keeping  many  good  people  away  and  lessening  the  Church 
income. 

PRASKOVIA  KEDROVSKY. 
Sworn  to  before  me  this 
24th  day  of  October,  1918. 

RUBIN  KUDLICK,  Notary  Public. 


121  — 


i 


STATE,  CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK,  SS. 

Maria  A.  Swidersky,  residing  at  No.  344  Madison  Street,  New 
York  City,  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says: 


Maria  A.  Swidersky. 

That  in  August,  1913,  she  was  asked  by  the  Rev.  John  F.  Dudi- 
koff,  then  Inspector  General  with  the  Consistory  of  the  Russian  Greek 
Catholic  Church  of  America,  with  offices  at  the  St.  Nicholas  Cath- 
edral, 15  East  97th  Street,  New  York  City,  to  call  at  the  Consistory 
with  the  object  of  dusting  the  holy  images  and  performing  such  other 
work  as  would  be  necessary  to  keep  the  House  of  Worship  in  good 
order ; 

That  having  accepted,  as  a  good  Christian,  the  said  invitation, 
deponent  was  attacked  and  forced  to  have  sexual  intercourse  against 


122  — 


her  will,  with  then  Archbishop  and  at  present  Metropolitan  Platon 
Rozhdestvensky  and  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  who  is  at  pres- 
ent a  fugitive  from  justice  in  Constantinopole,  Turkey; 

That  she  is  familiar,  from  her  own  knowledge,  of  the  many 
orgies  that  have  taken  place  at  the  Consistory  and  in  which  she  was 
forced  to  participate,  these  orgies  having  been  arranged  by  the  said 
Bishops  Platon  and  Alexander  with  the  connivance  and  participa- 
tion of  other  dignitaries  and  officials  of  the  Consistory. 

Deponent  further  states  that  she  has  known  a  number  of  other 
women  wdio  have  been  lured  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  Consistory 
and  suffer  similar  outrages  at  the  hands  of  the  above  said  Bishops. 

Deponent  also  indentifies  the  photograph  herewith  attached  as 
that  of  himself,  said  photograph  having  been  taken  about  a  year 
previous  to  the  signing  of  this  affidavit. 

Sworn  to  before  this  1st  day  of  December,  1923. 

MAX  WENDELLL  SCHWARTZ, 

Commissioner  of  Deeds  New  York  City,  New  York  County,  No.  124. 


—  123 


STATE,  CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK :    SS. 

Anna  Rupeka,  residing  at  No.  344  Madison  Street,  New  York 
City,  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says : 

That  in  August,  1913,  she  was  asked  by  the  Rev.  John  F.  Dudi- 
kolf,  then  Inspector  General  with  the  Consistory  of  the  Russian  Greek 
Catholic  Church  of  America,  with  offices  at  the  St.  Nicholas  Cath- 
edral, 15  East  97th  Street,  "New  York  City,  to  call  at  the  Consistory 
with  the  object  of  dusting  the  holy  images  and  performing  such  other 
work  as  would  be  necessary  to  keep  the  House  of  Worship  in  good 
order; 

That  having  accepted,  as  a  good  Christian,  the  said  invitation, 
deponent  was  attacked  and  forced  to  have  sexual  intercourse  against 
her  will,  with  then  Archbishop  and  at  present  Metropolitan  Platon 
Rozhdestvensky  and  Bishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky,  who  is  at  pres- 
ent a  fugitive  from  justice  in  Constantinopole,  Turkey; 

That  she  is  familiar,  from  her  own  knowledge,  of  the  many  orgies 
that  have  taken  place  at  the  Consistory  and  in  which  she  was  forced 
to  participate,  these  orgies  having  been  arranged  by  the  said  Bishops 
Platon  and  Alexander  with  the  connivance  and  participation  of  other 
dignitaries  and  officials  of  the  Consistory. 

Deponent  further  states  that  she  has  known  a  number  of  other 
women  who  have  been  lured  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  Consistory  and 
suffer  similar  outrages  at  the  hands  of  the  above  said  Bishops. 

Deponent  also  intentifies  the  photoghaph  herewith  attached  as 
that  of  herself,  said  photograph  having  been  taken  about  a  year 
previous  to  the  signing  of  this  affidavit. 

ANNA  RUPICKA. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  1st  of  December,  1923. 

MAX  WENDELLL  SCHWARTZ, 
Commissioner  of  Deeds  New  York  City,  New  York  County,  No.  124. 


124 


VASSILY  IVANOVICH  PTASHCHUK'S 
SECOND  AFFIDAVIT 

OF    CITIZEN    (who   was    formerly   a   priest    and    re- 
nounced his  priesthood  having  been  deceived  by  Bishop 
Dzinbai   and   Arch-bishop   Alexander   Nemolovsky   and 
Arch   Provocateur,  priest  Vladimir  Richlov)    Vassily 
Ivanovich  Ptashchuk. 
I,   Vassily   Ivanovich   Ptashchuk,  was  well   acquainted  with  the 
formerly  Arch-bishop  and  Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky  and 
Avith  Archbishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky  since  the  year  1910.     I  had 
the  occasion  to  become  acquainted  with  them  at  the  Russian  Consist- 
ory, which  is  located  at  15  East  97th  Street,  the  East  Side  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  State  of  New  York.     I  was  singing  then  in  the 
chapel  of  Ivan  Timofeevich  Gorokhoff,  who  was  formerly  the  regent 
of  the  St.  Nicholas  Catherdal. 

I,  being  good  and  honest,  believed  in  what  I  did,  and  was  con- 
vinced to  the  depth  of  my  soul  that  others  too  believed  in  the  doings 
of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church.  Having  been  advised  by  the  Lords 
of  the  Church  that  the  latter  is  in  need  of  funds  for  the  education, 
supposedly,  of  faithful  Russians,  I  was  donating  from  time  to  time 
small  sums  out  of  my  means  and  was  also  lending  large  sums  of  money 
having  been  sure  and  deeply  convinced  that  all  such  moneys  will  be 
used  for  good  and  educational  purposes.  But  after  some  time  I  con- 
vinced myself  that  all  my  money  went  into  the  pockets  of  the  lead- 
ers and  fathers  of  the  Church  and  this  money,  which  by  the  way  was 
earned  by  me  through  hard  labor,  the  Lords  of  the  Church  used  for 
drinking-bouts  and  orgies  and  to  complete  this  women-prostitutes 
always  played  there  the  "first  fiddle."  And  as  if  in  derision  of  one's 
person,  of  everything  that  is  clean  and  holy  in  a  human  being  I  was 
being  sent  to  certain  places  to  get  the  "goods."  Being  naive  and 
afraid  of  the  anger  of  the  Lords  I  incontrovertibly  fulfilled  their 
wishes.  I  was  always  present  at  such  orgies  as  a  dumb  and  blind 
witness.     I  used  to  think  that  all  I  saw  was  not  in  reality,    but  in  my 

—  125  — 


morbid  imagination.  I  tried  to  drive  awa}^  these  apparitions  and 
tried  to  imagine  that  nothing  special  happened.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, the  truth  stood  before  my  eyes.  God  knows  how  I  was  anxious 
that  all  this  should  not  be  true,  but  to  my  great  sorrow  these  were 
pictures  of  life  which  I  personally  saw. 

After  all  what  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  my  faith  not  only  in  the 
Lords  of  the  Church  was  shaken,  but  my  deep  faith  in  the  purity  and 
justice  of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church  lost  all  its  meaning  and  sig- 
nificance. And  since  then  I  began  more  seriously  to  look  up  every- 
thing that  surrounded  me  and  especially  to  the  circle  in  which  I 
mingled. 

Evidently  the  moneys  which  I  gave  did  not  let  the  Lords  ot  the 
Church  to  rest  and  especially  it  was  Alexander  Nemolovsky  who 
tried  and  succeeded  under  one  or  another  pretext  to  obtain  from  me 
sums  of  money.  When  all  my  funds,  so  hardly  earned,  gave  out  and 
I  could  not  be  milked  as  a  cow  any  more,  Alexander  Nemolovsky, 
in  order  to  remain  friendly  with  me  and  not  to  give  me  cause  to  be 
resentful  at  them,  has  organized  specially  for  me  a  few  sittings  on 
which  I  was  violated  in  a  most  brutal  manner  by  the  above  mentioned 
Alexander  Nemolovsky  and  other  Lords  of  the  Church.  For  each 
sitting  I  was  being  paid  a  few  dollars.  But  the  money  thus  earned 
was  finally  taken  back  in  a  most  shameful  way.  When  I  was  com- 
plaining of  not  having  money  for  a  living  I  was  given  a  few  dollars 
like  alms  which  I  sent  to  my  poor  wife  and  my  crippled  son.  Thus 
is  continued  until  I  could  not  and  did  not  have  the  strength  to  go  on 
with  such  life  in  an  atmosphere  of  falsehood  and  filth. 

Being  afraid  that  I  might  disclose  much  of  the  doings  of  the 
Lords  of  the  Church,  Alexander  Nemolovsky  promised  to  make  of  me 
a  priest.  I  argued  against  such  elevation,  pointing  out  that  I  was 
not  literate  enough  and  am  not  fit  for  the  place  after  what  I  have 
performed  together  with  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

''Your  Eminence,"  said  I,  'T  will  offend  the  pure  faith  of  the 
people  in  the  Orthodox  Church."  To  this  Bishop  Nemolovsky 
answered:  "Nothing  matters,  darling,  you  just  fit  for  the  office  and 
you  will  make  a  good  priest;  the  herd  and  the  most  egregious  fools/* 
so  he  called  the  faithful  Russians,  "anyway  don't  understanr  anything 
and  you  wil  be  for  them  a  real  parson."  And  so  by  the  order  of 
Nemolovsky  I  was  given  a  packet  with  which  I  went  to  Bishop  Ste- 
phan  Dztubat  at  233  East  17th  Street.     I  gave  him  the  packet  and 

—  126  — 


received  orders  to  call  on  the  following  morning  at  the  school  of  the 
Priest  Vladimir  Richlov  at  367  Cheriy  Street,  and  I  did  so.  In  the 
school  of  father  Richlov  I  received  from  the  latter  the  following  an- 
nouncement: "I  received  orders  from  Arhbishop  Alexander  Nemo- 
lovsky  and  Bishop  Stephan  Dziubai  to  elevate  you  to  the  rank  of 
priest  to-day,  i.  e.  October  12,  1920.  Half  an  hour  did  not  elapse  when 
an  automobile  arrived  to  the  school  and  from  it  appeared  Bishop 
Dziubai.  He  entered  the  school  and  at  once  they  put  on  upon  me 
the  sacradotal  vestment,  walked  with  me  a  few  times  through  the 
school  room  and  then  they  declared  that  I  was  already  "a  lawful  and 
rightful  priest".  Bishop  Dziubai  demanded  from  me  $100.00  Amer- 
ican dollars  which  I  gave  him  immediately.  I  was  tod  to  come  to 
the  school  two  days  later  to  receive  the  documents.  In  accordance 
with  the  instructions  I  came  and  received  these  documents  written  in 
English  and  Russian  with  the  following  order :  "To  keep  it  as  a 
secret  that  I  am  a  priest  until  my  return  to  Russia  as  I  can  be  a 
priest  only  in  Russia,  but  not  in  x\merica."  But  when  the  documents 
were  looked  over  it  was  found  that  the  Russian  w^as  made  out  in  my 
name  Vassily  Ptashchuk,  and  the  English  document  w^as  made  out  in 
the  name  of  some  one  "Ivan  Ptaschchuk,"  I  was  very  much  surprised 
and  thought  that  either  the  Bishops  were  very  much  drunk  and  mixed 
up  my  name  or  they  did  it  with  the  purpose  to  deceive  me  and  just 
at  an  unhappy  toiler  like  me. 

When  the  Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky  arrived  in  1921  I 
knew  that  he  will  take  place  of  Archbishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky. 
I  began  to  ask  the  Archbishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky  to  issue  to  me 
a  receipt  for  the  $4500.00  I  loned  him.  Nemolovsky  gave  me  a  re- 
ceipt, but  this  was  later  obtained  from  me  in  a  deceitful  manner  by 
the  Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky. 

In  November  1921  the  Archpriest  of  the  Cathedral,  Leonid  Tur- 
kevich,  ordered  me  to  come  to  15  East  97th  Street  into  the  part  oc- 
cupied by  the  Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky  who  gave  me  his 
blessings  and  wished  me  success  in  my  priestly  work  saying  that  he 
was  glad  that  I  "became  by  the  will  of  God  a  priest."  He  asked  me 
somehow  to  remain  with  him  alone  to  talk  over  about  some  secret 
church  affairs.  When  I  remained  the  ^Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdest- 
vensky at  first  asked  me  about  the  receipt  which  the  Archbishou 
Alexander  Nemolovsky  gave  me.  Suspecting  nothing  bad  on  the 
part  of  the  Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky  I  took  out  the  receipt 

—  127  — 


for  S4500.00  and  gave  it  to  Metropolitan  Rozhdestvensky.  He  read 
it  and  said:  "It  is  nonsense,  you  will  get  everything,  but  listen  to 
everything  we  will  tell  you  because  you  are  our  old  friend.  Suddenly 
he  began  to  tremble,  had  become  excited.  He  seized  me  and  began  to 
kiss.  In  a  profuse  perspiration  he  undressed  and  lay  down  in  bed. 
I  thought  that  His  Eminence  the  Most  Eminent  Metropolitan  Platon 
was  dicing  when  he  convulsing  in  his  bed  called  me :  "Vassilek,  come 
over  here,  rub  me  here,  here,  he  took  my  hanrd  and  putting  it  on  his 
stomach  screamed  in  agony  and  wild  extasy.  Vasia,  rub  stronger  my 
penis  and  as  an  insane  one  he  seized  me  towards  him  began  to  choke 
me  by  the  throat  and  then,  when  I  was  neither  dead  nor  alive,  he 
ravished  me  brutally.  Remaining  for  about  half  an  hour  in  bed,  the 
prelate  made  me  the  most  flattering  promises  which  included  the  Eden 
of  ]\Iahomet  and  he  became  tired  to  chatter,  got  up  from  the  bed, 
brought  into  order  his  clothes  and  drank  about  two  glasses  of  wine, 
he  gave  me  too,  and  I  drank  one  glass. 

At  last  the  Prelate  opened  the  door  with  a  key  and  went  out. 
In  about  five  minutes  he  returned  to  the  same  room  where  he  so 
brutally  attacked  me,  but  he  did  not  enter  alone,  but  with  the  entire 
suite  of  the  following  persons*  Archbishop  Alexander  Nemolovsky, 
Archpriest  Leonid  Turkevich,  Archpriest  Peter  Popoff,  xVrchpriest 
\^assilv  Lisenkovsky,  Arch-provocateur  Vladimir  Richlov,  Gregory 
Kunashevsky,  Valerian  Grevies,  who  was  just  arrived,  and  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  Dussian  Relief,  Vladimir  Vladimirovich  Buimistrov. 

I  was  much  astonished  by  all  this  and  by  the  fact  that  everyone 
who  entered  shook  hands  with  me  calling  me  their  friend.  Taking 
me  aside  the  Metropolitan  Platon  began  to  beg  me  to  listen  to  him.  and 
to  all  his  intimates  and  to  do  a  thing  of  great  importance  to  the 
church.  When  I  asked  what  it  was  the  Metropolitan  Platon  came 
nearer  to  his  suite  and  said :  "Gentlemen,  we  all  must  know  about  the 
affair  we  have  conceived,  and  you,  Vassily",  he  said  turning  to  me, 
"even  if  you  will  reveal  our  plot,  nobody  will  believe  you,  better 
listen  and  do  what  we  will  ask  you."  I  answered  affirmatively.  To 
encourage  me  and  to  make  me  feel  happy  the  Metropolitan  told  me 
that  they  will  give  me  so  much  money  that  I  will  not  have  to  do 
painting  work  any  more,  that  I  will  live  on  the  money  that  will  be 
given  to  me  by  the  plotters  of  the  Church.  Then  he  said  :  "You  know 
that  from  Russia  came  pursuing  me  Dudikoff  with  his  wife,  who 
tried  many  times  to  kill  me,  and  B.  Kuklevsky  because  we  owe  to 

—  128  — 


Dudikoff  $2800.00  which  he  gave  for  safe  keeping  to  our  Church 
Missionary  Bank  and  $5000.00  for  shares  which  were  pledged  to 
Dudikoff.  We  owe  him  $7800.00  and  6%  yearly  interest  while  the 
shares  he  has  are  worth  at  least  $42,000,00.  You,  Vassily,  ought  to 
try  to  get  those  shares  and  try  to  finish  up  with  him."  He  was  still 
more  begging  me  and  then  he  said  :  "Take  Dudikoff  somewhere  and 
quietly  thrust  a  knife  into  him  so  that  nobody  should  see.  He  would 
give  you  a  revolver  but  the  sounds  of  the  shot  would  be  heard  and 
you  might  be  caught  into  a  trap.  The  priest  Richlov,  Archbishop 
Nemolovsky  and  Gregory  Kunashevsky  were  advising  me  to  put 
poison  into  a  glass  of  some  drink  which  Dudikoff  will  use.  When  1 
asked  where  I  could  get  it,  Kunashevsk  said  that  "everything  will 
be  given  if  I  will  ony  try  to  do  the  thing."  Especially  insistent  on 
such  a  terrible  murder  was  the  ^Metropolitan  Platon  Rozhdestvensky. 

After  such  a  terrible  plot  w^hich  was  organized  against  the  citizen 
and  now  a  priest,  father  Ivan  Dudikoff,  who  is  fighting  the  evil  in 
the  Russian  Oorthodox  Church,  I  left  and  immediately  warned  father 
Dudikoff  about  the  danger.  But  I  did  not  tell  him  who  were  the 
plotters  as  I  did  not  want  him  to  start  criminal  proceedings  against 
them.  I,  too,  was  afraid  especially  for  my  savings  which  were  entire- 
ly in  the  hands  of  the  Prelates  and  under  prelates  of  the  Orthodox 
Church. 

After  this  I  decided  to  reveal  their  terrible  plot  against  the  priest 
father  Ivan  Dudikoff",  and  decided  to  demand  the  return  ot  my 
$4500.00  which  Igave  to  the  prelates  and  $100.00  to  under  prelate 
Stephan  Dziubai,  the  sum  total  of  $4600.00  plus  six  percent  interest  per 
annum.  I  wish  to  add  that  a  part  of  this  sum,  i.  t.  $3000.00  were  loaned 
by  me  from  citizen  Semen  Semenovich  Savchuk,  who  resides  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  for  which  sum  I  gave  to  Savchuk  a  receipt. 

Having  entirely  given  up  the  honor  of  priesthood  which  was 
conferred  upon  me  by  Archbishop  Dziubai,  I,  as  an  honest  citizen,, 
who  is  desirous  to  return  to  a  poor  though  but  honest  life,  give  my 
affidavit  as  before  God  Almighty  not  omitting  anything  of  the  doings 
of  the  Prelates  and  under  prelates  of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church 
who  have  declared  themselves  to  be  the  chiefs  of  the  Greek-Catholic 
Church,  doings  which  I  witnessed  during  a  period  of  thirteen  years. 

I  believe  and  hope  that  Christ's  Holy  Church  will  arise  and  that 
justice  will  triumph  among  the  Russian  people  after  the  elimination, 

—  1.29  — 


of  course,  of  the  filth,  of  which  there  is  so  much  in  Russian  Orthodox 
Church  in  United  States  of  North  America. 

My  affidavit  was  read  to  me  and  being  in  sound  health 
and  mind  and  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  and  a  Notary 
PubUc  I  do  swear  to  it  and  personally  affix  my  signature. 

VASSILY  PTASHCHUK. 
Witnesses : 

1.  M.  J.  Nestor 

2.  M.  Zverina 

3.  D.  Pollock. 

Sworn  to  before  me  at  my  office,  178  Second  Avenue,  New  York, 
this  4th  day  of  September,  1923. 

MARK  WEINBAUM,  Notary  Public. 


—  130 


HEARING  OF  LUBKUCH  VS.  REPELO 

The  following  were  called  to  the  inquest:  Vassily  Repelo,  the 
defendant  and  at  present  priest  and  provost  with  the  Mission,  and 
Marie  Lubkuch,  the  plaintiff,  her  father,  and  a  number  of  witnesses. 
Father  Slunin  had  them  all  sworn  in,  "Consul"  Rutsky,  alias  Daniel 
Gilevitch,  cross-examined  them,  and  I  took  down  the  testimony.  Piate- 
ski  acted  as  assistant  secretary.  The  inquest  made  it  clear  that  Vassily 
Repelo,  havini,^  lured  the  girl,  Marie  Lubkuch,  for  a  walk  on  the 
cemetery,  violated  her  at  a  head  stone  representing  an  angel  with  a 
cross  in  his  hands.  Vassily  Repelo  admitted  his  guilt  and  implored 
that  his  youth  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  that  an  attempt  be 
made  to  reconcile  him  with  Marie.  He  promised  to  pay  her  father 
$5,000.  He  paid  this  sum  in  full  and  handed  it  to  "Consul"  Rutsky, 
who  turned  it  over  to  Father  Slunin,  remarking,  "This  inquest  is 
being  carried  on  by  the  Church  Mission,  and  the  money  must,  there- 
fore, be  transmitted  to  the  defendant,  through  the  medium  of  the 
church.  Give  the  money  to  Archbishop  Platon,  and  you,  Lubkuch,  sign 
a  receipt  for  it  at  once,  because  the  money  had  been  turned  over  in 
your  presence.  \\^hen  you  present  this  receipt  to  the  Bishop,  he  will 
give  you  the  money.  Should  you  wish  to  thank  the  church  for  its 
trouble,  you  may  donate  $1,000  or  so  to  the  Archbsihop,  Platon,  for 
charitable  purposes."  Father  Slunin  put  the  money  into  his  pocket, 
and  promised  Lubkuch  to  send  the  money  that  very  week.  As  it 
turned  out  the  money  was  never  sent.  On  the  way  back  to  New  York, 
Father  Siimin  who  at  sat  in  front  of  me,  paid  Daniel  Gilevitch  for 
having  played  the  part  of  "Consul." 

STATE  OF  PENNSYLVAXL\,  COUNTY  OF 
LACKAWANNA,  ss. 

Marie  Lubkuch,  being  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and 
says,  that  the  facts  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  Statement,  so  far  as 
they  pretain  to  an  ecclesiastical  hearing,  pretended  to  have  been  con- 
ducted by  one  Father  Slunin  between  Marie  Lubkuch  and  Vassily 
Repelo,  are  true  and  correct. 

(Signed)     MARY  LUBKUCH. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  25th  day  of  August,  A.D.  1923. 

(Signed)   JACOB  L.  MARTIN,  Notary  PubHc. 

:\Iy  commission  expires  April  1,  1927. 

—  131  — 


SUPPLEMENT 

A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  MY  COURT  TRL4LS 
AND  FURTHER  SUFFERLNGS 

My  lawsuit  against  those  persons  who  were  impUcated  in  plun- 
dering me  and  guilty  in  all  of  my  sufferings,  to  wit:  charging  me 
with  Bolshevism,  etc.,  which  had  been  tried  before  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Bayonne,  N.  J.,  all  of  a  sudden  had  been  discontinued  without  my 
knowledge.  And  when  I  have  made  an  official  inquiry,  the  court 
official  told  me  that  the  trial  took  place  in  June,  1923,  and  that  the 
case  was  left  without  results  and  refused  to  give  any  further  ex- 
planations. Meanwhile,  a  short  time  thereafter,  to  wit:  in  the  fall, 
during  my  absence  when  I  went  to  Los  /\ngeles  about  the  business  of 
my  film,  somebody  availed  himslef  of  my  material,  stolen  from  me 
during  the  same  plundering  by  the  Ku-Klinski  of  Bayonne,  and  turned 
it  over  to  the  press.  Several  articles  from  this  material  were  publish- 
ed in  the  newspaper  *'Novy  Mir"  (The  ''New  World").  Who  turned 
them  over  to  the  editorial  office  I  can  only  guess,  for  I  did  not  as  yet 
succeed  to  get  an  official  information  from  the  editorial  office  of 
that  newspaper' regarding  this  matter.  In  answer  to  my  inquiry  the 
editorial  office  has  referred  to  the  German  newspaper  "Folkszeitung." 
However,  when  I  requested  to  show  me  a  copy  of  that  newspaper 
they  could  not  give  it  to  me  but  tried  by  all  means  to  evade  the  issue 
with  all  kinds  of  excuses,  that  I  could  get  more  detailed  explanation 
from  editor  Borisoft",  who  just  happened  not  to  be  in  but  would  be 
to-morrow,  and  finally, — never.  In  the  same  time,  to  wit :  in  August, 
not  being  able  to  endure  it  any  longer,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  look 
for  justice  by  publsihing  a  book,  however,  not  for  sale,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  familiarizing  with  this  matter  those  whom  it  may  concern, 
among  the  American,  as  well  as  Russian  public  men,  and  also  by 
producing  a  film. 

For  this  purpose  I  went  to  the  Department  of  Justice  at  Washing- 
ton, accompanied  by  my  lawyer,  Mr.  Beder,  of  15  Park  Row,  New 
York,  where  at  a  personal  interview  with  ]\Ir.  Nathan,  who  has  in- 
troduced himself  as  Assistant  to  the  Attoreny  General,   I  had  been 

—  132  — 


given  a  promise  that  my  case  would  be  examined  within  a  very  short 
time,  namely  -about  two  weeks,  and  I  gave  them  a  brief  summary  which 
was  intended  for  the  pubUcation  of  my  book ;  whereupon  I  have  been 
advised  by  words  of  mouth,  that  there  is  no  objection  to  the  pubhca- 
tion,  and  that  concerning  the  production  on  the  screen,  I  have  to  apply 
to  the  Chief  Director  of  Films,  ^^Ir.  Hayes,  and  which  advice  I  have 
followed.  Upon  my  reutrn  to  New  York  I  have  commenced  preparing 
the  work  for  my  book.  But  merciless  Fate  constantly  persecuted  me 
and  my  book  with  all  material,  almost  in  final  form,  had  been  seized 
by  gaents  of  the  Metropolitan  Paton  at  the  printing  shop  and  destroyed. 
In  this  obnoxious  crime  took  actvie  part :  the  attorneys  and  counsellors 
of  the  Metropolitan,  Messrs.  Graves  and  Mahony,  the  priest  and  former 
German  spy  Krizhanowsky  and  many  others — in  all  about  40  people. 
Whereupon,  this  violence  was  accompanied  by  beating  me  up.  Prin- 
cipally threatened  with  revolvers :  the  priest  Krizhanowsky,  and  one 
Muralow,  a  former  Che-kist  -at  the  Kieff  Extra-Ordinary  Commission, 
Malaya  Sadowaya  Xo.  5.  • 

During  this  pogrom  they  caused  me  damages  amounting  in  total 
to  some  $50,000.00,  taking  into  consideration  that  at  the  same  time  I 
lost  a  number  of  very  valuable  affidavits. 

After  all  this  I  again  went  with  my  attorney,  Mr.  Alaximilian 
Beder  to  Washington.  The  same  ]\Ir.  Xathan,  after  hearing  m\'  story 
for  the  second  time  requested  from  me  a  brief  summary,  allgeing 
that  he  cannot  find  the  first  one  I  gave  him  during  my  first  visit  at 
the  Department  of  Justice,  and  again  having  promised  that  the  entire 
affair  would  be  investigated  very  shortly.    Whereupon  he  said: 

"Regardless  of  all  this,  there  is  no  objection  against  the  filming 
of  your  picture — apply  to  the  same  Mr.  Hayes." 

Having  returned  to  Xew  York,  I  went  to  the  office  of  Mr.  Hayes 
and  his  assistant  told  me  that  from  their  part  there  is  no  objection 
either,  and  that  the  concern  which  buys  from  me  the  picture  will  take 
care  itself  about  the  further  development  of  the  film;  whereupon  he 
forwarded  to  me  a  list  containing  names  and  addresses  of  various 
film  companies. 

Thereafter,  within  a  short  time,  I  commenced  negotiations  with 
a  film  company  at  Los  Angeles  regarding  the  sale  of  my  film  and  went 
there.  But  here  again  I  had  met  with  misfortune.  The  Metropolitan 
Platon,  with  the  assistance  of  his  agent,  the  priest  Razumow,  gathered 
a  group  of  some  200  people,  including  Baptists,  denounced  me,  arrested 
me  and  prosecuted  me. 

—  133  — 


The  charges  against  me  were  different,  without  aversion  to  any- 
thing:  accusing  me  of  Bolshevism,  atheism, -etc.    .    .    . 

The  Judge,  after  hearing  the  case  and  being  convinced  in  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  charges,  dismissed  the  complaint  and  released  me,  finally, 
and  besides,  he  initiated  prosecutions  against  some  of  the  false  wit- 
nesses, as  criminals.  After  my  release  they  did  not  leave  me  in  peace 
yet  and  summoned  me  to  the  Federal  Department,  where  Inspector 
Dick,  after  an  inquest  and  thorough  examination  of  my  documents,  he 
certified  the  legality  of  my  being  there,  advising  me,  however,  to  go 
back  to  New  York.  Besides,  I  had  been  persecuted  by  some  Federal 
agent,  E,  Kosterlitsky,  who,  simply  being  engaged  in  extortion, 
threatened  me  with  deportation  and  other  horrors. 

Being  sick  and  tired  of  all  this  troubles  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
depart  and  went  to  New  York,  where  I  hope  to  bring  this  case  to  an 
end.  Upon  my  arrival  in  New  York,  I  met  the  pseudo-MetropoUtan, 
a  former  priest  Kedrowsky,  who  informed  mc  that  my  position  is 
very  bad,  as  he  told  me  that  he  turned  over  by  mistake  one  of  my 
affidavits,  revealing  the  activity  of  the  Soviet  inquisition  in  Russia,  to 
the  "Narkomust"  (the  National  Commissariat  of  Justice)  and  that  I 
may  be  shot  upon  my  return  to  that  country. 

I  would  very  much  like  that  the  authorities  of  the  United  States 
investigate  this  case.  In  the  first  place,  where  did  he  get  my  affidavit, 
and,  secondly,  what  right  did  he  have  to  turn  it  over  to  the  Soviet 
authorities?  This  means,  that  he  is  an  agent  of  the  Soviets  and  is  em- 
ployed by  the  Third  International. 

Translation  of  an  article  published  in  No.  39  of  the  Russian 
weekly  "Swit"  {The  Light)  in  the  issue  of  October  25,  1923,  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 


TO  THE  POINT  AND  VERY  IMPORTANT. 

As  a  representative  of  the  superior  monarchial  council,  I  repu- 
diate with  extreme  indignation  the  alleged  participation  of  the  mon- 
archists in  the  assault  and  battery  of  the  unfortunate  priest  Dudikoff, 
according  to  the  report  printed  in  the  "Novy  Mir"  (the  New  World) 
and  other  newspapers.  This  matter  in  the  communication  as  well  as 
in  the  conclusion  has  absolutely  no  connection  whatsoever  with  the 
monarchists.     Such  criminal  departures  are  incompatible  with  the  dig- 

—  134  — 


nity  of  people  of  this  denomination,  who  strive  to  a  firm  upbuilding  of 
Russia  and  respect  the  laws  of  this  country. 

The  described  September  the  I7th  'debauch  had  been  performed 
by  violators  who  dared  to  raise  their  hand  against  a  clargyman  and 
even  threatening  to  use  a  ready  weapon. 

It  is  impossible  to  destroy  the  compromising  book  and  thus  cor- 
rode the  persons  described  therein :  a  multitude  of  thousands  of  work- 
ingmen  and  other  witnesses  demand  justice  and  a  public  trial,  while 
the  Jews  also  demand  a  clearing  up  of  the  grave  threats  of  massacres 
against  their  race  at  this  criminal  attack  and  debauch. 

It  is  a  tremendous  scandal.  Of  course,  for  what  had  occurred 
wilt,  first  of  all,  be  held  responsible  a  part  of  the  guilty  ones,  insofar 
as  this  vanguard  of  the  tireless,  fumigating  riot  proceeded  along  the 
lines  of  action  at  the  described  moment;  and  thereafter,  when  the 
trial  will  disclose  the  main  cause  which  had  provoked  this  ugly  brawl, 
then  will  by  itself  be  revealed  the  grounds  which  compelled  to  make 
the  experiment  in  writing  this  sorrowful  book.  It  is  positively  known 
that  once  upon  a  time  Dudikoff  even  took  an  oath  in  a  church  that  he 
would  be  discreet  and  careful  in  publishing  things  he  had  seen  with  his 
own  eyes  and,  in  this  respect,  he  would  have  to  treat  actual,  concrete 
matters  as  non-existing  ones.  For  this,  confidence  has  been  shown  to 
him  and  he  had  been  promised  an  enviable  career. 

But  all  this,  nevertheless,  was  a  terrible  scoffiing  at  sacred  things, 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  persons  who  badly  need  an  insurance- 
cover  for  their  very  non-transparent  possibilities  in  applying  in  advance 
their  methods  of  scaring  and  extracting  extorting  obligations.  It  is 
therefore  sheer  short-sightedness  and  unwise 'to  destroy  by  pogrom- 
methods  a  book,  which  chiefly  concerns  those  who  are  indignant  against 
it.  It  is  no  use.  The  law  of  moral  compensation  is  still  in  existence; 
its  rays  illuminate  far  and  penetrate  into  human  affairs.  It  is  a  thou- 
sand times  not  the  matter  with  the  book,  nor  with  Its  modest  author, 
with  his  confirming  name,  but  rather  with  those  people  who  furnish- 
ed hte  exclusive  material  for  its  contents,  treating-  (one  word  illegi- 
ble— translator)  shameful  for  all  moral  fundamentals  and  the  people 
enumerated  therein  without  any  zealous  veal. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  positively  known  to  me  that  a  reproduction 
of  Dudikoff's  book  may  now  easily  be  found  in  the  S\'nod  of  Berlin, 
Paris,  London,  Rome  and  everywhere  in  the  entire  wide  zone  of  the 
Russian  settling-.    Apparenlty,  "Habeat  libelli  sua  fata." 

^  135  — 


upon  the  examination  of  the  affairs  of  the  Diocese  of  the  United 
States,  this  book,  in  manuscript,  was  lying  on  my  desk.  I  have  read  it 
with  pain,  based  upon  thousands  of  preUminary  facts,  documents  and 
communications.  Upon  consideration  and  comparison  with  the  latter 
ones  I  have  formed  a  conviction  that  the  story  is  entirely  verisimilar, 
the  frame  true  to  the  environment,  the  style  is  matter-of-fact,  episod- 
ical, simply  photographical,  and  the  whirlwind  of  participants  actual, 
althoucrh  of  a  shockingly  negati\'e  character. 

Hell,  I  should  say,  chd  not  kindle  a  more  effectual  tire-work. 
Having  remained  under  such  a  shocking  impression  after  having  read 

'  this  book,  I  did  not  make  a  separate  anlysis  being  oppressed  by  the 
official  material  alone,  of  which  there  was  plenty  with  an  overwhelm- 
ing supertluity  for  the  concluding  and  final  totals  of  the  revision  of  the 
touched  in  it  manipulating  sharps  of  the  most  shameful  ilk. 

And  so,  there  is  no  use  of  winkling  or  shifting  at  politics  or  at 
our   monarchists.      Concerning  this  matter  our   dissident   friends   iii- 

^-formed  about  the  heroes  of  the  book  ardently  implored  to  save  Faith, 

•  Christ's  name  and  the  law. 

Dudikoff's  book  is  "non-political.  Therefore,  the  various  inform- 
ers in  the  newspapers  are  trying  in  vain  to  impart  false  and  evasive 
light  that  all  this  had  been  done  by  the  Platon's  susceptible  censorship 
against  Rasputin.  Illiodor,  etc".  Nothing"  at  all.  In  this  book  if  is 
merelv  being  narrated  about  the  one  who  is  conducting  the  entire  train, 

.M.   Platon   Rozhdestvensky,   and  his   friend  Alexander   Nemolovsky, 

.with  those  affilliat'cd  wdth  this  two-in-one  block  of  assistants,  quakes 
comedians,  etc.,  placed  by  the  conductors  of  the  train  in  the  rank  of 
supernumeraries.  .  .  .  v-i-'i 

It  is  difficult  to  reply  to  this  for  there  is  a  reserve  of  subsequent 
incon\Tnient  revelations  and  disclosures.  There  was  plently  of  time 
to  conscienciously  reflect  on,  that  no  matter  how  horrible  the  darkness 
of  Eg}^pt  might  have  been,  even  at  the  time  of  Moses,  yet  it  has  to 
disperse  and   give   way   to   light.      ]\Iy   profound   conviction   if,   that 

.Dudikoff's  book  will  have  its  fate :  through  the  princely  Oleg's  horse, 
upon  which  wall  deadly  stumble  the  marked  in  it  embodied,  incul- 
cated, ready  for  all  insane  scoffings — evil. 

BISHOP  ANTONY. 


■^-  im 


STATR  OF  XI- W  YORK.  COXTY  OF  XIlW  YORK, 
CITY  OF  XI-:\\'  Y(_)RK,   SS  : 

I,  the  undersioiied,  a  Xotary  Public  in  and  for  the  State  of  Xew 
^'ork.  <kily  commissioned  and  sworn,  do  hereby  certify  that  I  liaye 
rendered  into  l^n^lish  the  aboye  translation  from  Russian,  i)ublished  in 
the  Russian  weekly  "The  Lis:ht",  in  issue  Xo.  39,  of  October  25th, 
1023;  that  I  am  an  editor  of  foreign  lani^^ua.y^e  j)ublications  and  haye  an 
extensiye  experience  in  translating  from  Russian  into  Fnglish  and  vice 
\  ersa  ;  that  said  translation  and  each  and  every  part  and  parcel  there- 
of is  correct  and.  to  the  best  of  my  ability  and  understanding,  repre- 
>ents  a  true  and  exact  co])y  of  said  Russian  article. 

IX'^  WTTXh'.SS  W'HFREOF.  I  haye  hereunto  subscribed  my  name 
.'ind  atfixcd  the  seal  of  my  office  this  2()th  day  of  March,  1924. 

AAROX  (iOLDBERG, 

Xotary  Pubic  Kings  County,  X'o.  47. 
Cert,  filed  in  X'"e\y  York  Co.,  X^o.  164. 

M\'  commission  expires  March  30,  1926. 


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